Social Standing
by suspense button presser
Summary: The Malfoy family is yearning for social standing after the Battle of Hogwarts. They figure out a solution that involves a red-haired girl who wears hand me down robes. Set after DH, minus Epilogue.
1. Chapter 1

It was obvious to Draco Malfoy that he had little choice once his parents had made up their minds. One year had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts and even though they did not serve time in Azkaban, the Malfoys had paid for their crimes and had become social outcasts. This particularly drove Narcissa mad.

"The Dark Lord would have killed Potter had it not been for me, and what do I get as a reward? I am exiled out of society. I can take it no longer Lucius." Narcissa sat down into a high armed chair.

Lucius stood for a moment before he spoke. He took his cane and tapped his fingers on the head of the snake. Slowly, he turned toward Draco who had been standing in the shadows of the corner. "Have you heard from anyone at school Draco?"

"I tell you that we are social outcasts and you ask our son-"

"No." Draco said flatly. He cut across the room towards his mother and stood behind her chair. "Not since before the trial."

All of Draco's Slytherin friends felt that he and his family got off easy compared to what happened to their relatives. Draco hadn't heard from Blaise since the day before the trial. Goyle hadn't spoken to him since the end of the Battle of Hogwarts due to his anger over Crabbe's death. Draco still hadn't gotten over Crabbe's death, but he wasn't able to talk to anyone about it. Malfoys did not cry.

"Well, to give your mother the social calendar she deserves, we are going to need you to find a proper pureblood wife." Lucius said flatly.

"Father, I'm only 18-"

"And old enough to take on the responsibilities of a head of household. Your mother and I will discuss who would be an appropriate match for you and we will consult with you later on who we have chosen." Lucius turned to his son and gave him a wave telling him to leave. Draco reluctantly left and slammed his door once he had reached his room.

" _They can't do this."_ He thought to himself. " _No way can they possibly do this. They cannot order me to get married. This only a way of making connections so that mother won't feel lonely."_ Draco cared for his mother deeply, but this was not something that he would do without a fight. He had no intention of settling down or lying in bed with another person. He never wanted an arranged marriage, but he also was longing for a companion other than his parents. This would definitely make finding a wife easier and while it may have been earlier in his life than he would have liked, he would be okay with it if he felt it was a suitable match.

After a long time had passed, Narcissa gave a light knock on Draco's door. "Draco?" She asked softly.

"Come in mother." He said.

She came in and was followed by Lucius, who looked less than pleased according to his facial expression. "After a long discussion, Your father and I believe that we have come up with a suitable solution. We think that it would be within our family's best interest if you were to court and marry Ginny Weasley."

Draco's mouth dropped as he looked between his parents. " _The Weaslette?_ You must be joking."

Narcissa's face fell as she looked at her son's reaction. "Yes, Ginny Weasley. She is pureblooded and she is very popular among the Wizarding world. She will be graduating from Hogwarts soon and our family would benefit from making that connection."

"You want me to marry a Weasley?" Draco asked, looking at his father who remained silent.

Narcissa however, looked at her son precariously. "She is well liked in our world, she's likely to be successful, and she would be a great addition to our family."

Draco shook his head as if he was hoping to wake up from a horrible dream. "Even if I were to find her attractive, how am I supposed to get the Weasley girl to marry me? I couldn't get her away from Potter even if I had a whole supply of Felix Felicis. I don't understand how you think that she would choose me over 'The Chosen One'".

Narcissa raised her brow with a sneer and said, "Haven't you read the Daily Prophet? Potter hasn't been seen for weeks. Not without breaking her heart of course. From what Rita Skeeter told, it was a nasty breakup in front of everyone. Reports say she's heartbroken. Maybe all she needs is for someone to sweep her off of her feet."

"I'm not the knight in shining armor that she's looking for." Draco said flatly, giving this idea some thought. "I'm not Potter."

"No Draco, you're better" Narcissa hissed. "You are the opposite of Harry Potter and that is going to be exactly what Ginny Weasley wants. Send her an owl tonight and tell her that you want to see her. Be sweet about it." Narcissa sat on Draco's bed with him and put a comforting hand on his knee. "I know that this exile has been hard for you too, Draco. Please put your best foot forward. She is the best chance that we have at being back on top."

Draco gave a small smile to his mother and agreed quietly to do as she wished. She kissed him on his cheek and led Lucius out of the room, lightly closing the door behind them. Draco sat in his room silently for hours with a quill in his hand silently while it loomed over the parchment. He had never thought that he would be put in this position and now that he had he didn't know what to do. Was the Daily Prophet really right and Harry had publicly broken up with the Weasley girl? How would she react to his random gesture to meet? What would her brothers do if they knew about his intentions? He shakily put his quill in the ink and started to write.

 _Dear Weasley,_

 _My mother requests your attendance at a tea party set for next Tuesday at 2 pm. If you are able to attend please send back a response with my owl letting me know of your availability. We will be asking other esteemed members of the community to join us and your presence is highly requested._

 _Hope you are well._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Draco Malfoy_

He sealed the letter and then sent his owl straight away to the Burrow. Draco continued to tell himself that he was only doing this for his mother and that it would make her happy.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ginny sat wishfully at her desk as it looked out the Orchard. Footsteps continually went up and down the stairs as word continued that Bill and Fleur had a baby girl. There was so much excitement that it was almost forgotten that it was also the anniversary of a terrible day to the Weasley family. Fred's death continued to be a sore topic for the entire family and created a waterfall of tears. More footsteps came, but then knocked on her door. "Come in."

Ron Weasley came into the room with ruffled hair and a ripped t-shirt. In his arms Ron was holding a young boy with blue hair who had a big smile on his face when he saw Ginny. The blue haired boy started laughing when he saw Ginny and held his arms out to her. "Mum asked me if I could look after him for a while, but I only looked after him twenty minutes and he's driving me mad. Cleaned my room yesterday and now it looked like a storm hit my room. You take him, he likes you."

Ginny laughed at Ron's frustration and placed Teddy on her hip. "Have you been giving Uncle Ron a hard time?" She asked in a sweet voice.

Teddy clapped his hands and his hair turned pink. Ginny looked back to Ron and he couldn't help, but give a little smile. "Uncle Ron. I guess I better get used to that."

Ron headed back out the door and left Ginny alone with Teddy. She bounced him around and after he got tried, she decided to read him some stories. Once Teddy fell asleep on her bed, Ginny was able to look out her window again in the hopes that she might see Hedwig coming by.

In the distance, Ginny could see a grey speckled owl and immediately got excited. She opened her window and saw the grey owl soar into her room. The bird landed on her desk and put its leg out for her to take the letter. To Ginny's surprise the owl was staying as she ripped the letter open. She read the letter once, twice, and even a third time to really absorb what she was reading. Narcissa Malfoy wanted Ginny Weasley to come to a tea party at her house for esteemed guests? Had the Malfoys all gone mad? If Narcissa had wanted Ginny to come then why hadn't she addressed the letter herself instead of making her son write it?

Ginny had never really met Narcissa in her life, so why was she all of the sudden trying to make nice with her? Was this like the Slug Club where Narcissa was trying to get the best of the best to try and connect with them?

Though Ginny did not want to go, she did not have any good reason to decline the invitation. She wrote _Ginny Weasley- attending_ on a small piece of parchment and sent the grey speckled owl off.

Things had definitely took a weird turn, but Ginny could not figure out whether or not these changes were good or bad. However she knew one thing, she was not going to tell any of her family about this tea party.

 _(Author's Note: Long time no write! This story is an adapted version of my older story Decisions since I didn't like what I did with it and felt like it needed to be rewritten. Please leave a review if you feel so inclined.)_


	2. Chapter 2

**_Please Review_**

Draco paced up and down his room as May 11th arrived. He had not seen Ginny Weasley since the Battle of Hogwarts and would not know what to talk to her about. They had never spoken more than a few words to each other and under no circumstances were those words ever nice. He couldn't explain why she had said that she would come, but for his mother's sake he was happy she could be there. All of this of course, was for his mother and her happiness. It would break his mother's heart if she did not have any grandchildren and it was one of Draco's biggest fears that he would not be able to supply her with those.

Looking out his window, Draco saw several figures coming toward his house. Any minute his mother would yell for him to come down and greet their guests, but he was not willing to go down and make small talk. He hated small talk. Sitting on his bed, he stared out his window at the people entering the gate. Suddenly, a woman with flaming red hair appeared out of thin air with a loud _CRACK_. Draco smiled at this because it was likely the Carrows did not teach apparition, which caused Ginny to be clumsy with her apparation skills.

He watched her nervously come through the gate and walk the long walkway to the door. He could not pick himself off of his bed and leave his room. His butt was permanent glued to his bed and would not get up for any reason. He felt paralyzed in a sense. It bothered him that he could not figure out why he was so petrified of a _Weasley_.

Footsteps could be heard coming from the steps and he expected his mother's knock on the door, but it was a softer knock than hers. Out of curiosity, Draco unglued himself from his bed and walked toward his door, when he opened it her saw a woman with flaming red hair that hit her shoulders. She was wearing a light blue summer dress that was fitting for an outdoor tea party. Her hair was smoother than he had remembered and her eyes were softer. "Your mum told me to come up and get you. She didn't want you hiding from your guests."

As if involuntary, Draco hissed out, "I wasn't hiding _Weasley_ , I have better things to do than attend silly tea parties." His jaw closed itself shut and his eyes watched for her reaction. To his displeasure, Ginny did not take this comment kindly.

"You were the one who invited me to this party." Ginny spat quickly, her face turning pink. "If you didn't want me to come then you should have told your mother to bugger off and to not have invited me. I don't want to waste my time if you're-"

As Ginny was turning away, Draco caught her hand and made her stop in her tracks. She turned and stared while his hand continued to hold hers. His hands were cold and smooth, but they seemed to slightly tremble. "You're the only reason why this disastrous party is going to be tolerable." He couldn't rack his brain for why he had said it, but like his nasty comment previously, it just slipped from his mouth.

Ginny continued to stare at their joined hands, while Draco looked at her face. Once he had realized what he had been doing, he let go of her hand and coughed hard. "This party means a lot to my mother and I don't want to disappoint her."

Looking toward her, he saw her give a small smile. "Well, Malfoy, we can't really help her from up here now can we?"

Draco gave a stiff laugh and led Ginny downstairs. They walked in silence and caught Narcissa at the front door. "Oh good! Thank you for bringing him down Miss Weasley, have him take you to the lawn where everyone else is having refreshments. I will be down to do social rounds once everyone has arrived."

Leading the way, Draco led Ginny to the back lawn where a ton of older witches and wizards were talking. Lucius was in the corner talking business with a banker, while Slughorn was filling his face with pastries. As far as Ginny could see, she and Draco were the youngest people there by about twenty years. "Are we expecting anyone else our age to show up?" she asked curiously.

"Not likely." Draco said from the side of his mouth. "Mother only let me bring you, because 'you're bound to be successful'".

Ginny turned to look Draco in the face in awe. He knew that it was a mistake once he had said it, but he could not put the words back in his mouth. "At least your mum thinks highly of me."

"She knows great potential when she sees it."

Draco wondered how far he could shove his entire foot in his mouth without choking on it. He hadn't meant to compliment Weasley in any way, but it was only for his mother's sake. This was all to make his mother happy.

Ginny didn't know how to feel with Narcissa giving her compliments and having Draco hold her hand. She was obviously living in a delusional world where nothing made sense anymore. "I think I will go say hi to Professor Slughorn."

He watched her walk over to the pastry table and be well received by the potions professor. Draco then felt a weird feeling swell over him. Was he really just doing this for his mum or did he secretly want companionship? He didn't have long to ponder this thought as his mother came around and asked him quietly, "so have you proposed yet?"

"Mother" Draco hissed, "I'm doing this as a favor to you, but I will do it on my own time. You have your party, shouldn't this be enough?"

"Draco, you simply cannot understand. You need to act faster or I will never be able to see my grandchildren alive for I will have died waiting for you to propose." Narcissa growled, giving her son dark looks.

"You need to give me more time than one afternoon. We've barely spoken yet."

"Draco, this is not love, it is a social transaction. She gives us what we want and we will repay her by showering her with gifts if she lives up to the Malfoy name. Do not confuse this with love Draco, if you are waiting for that you may never find it."

"Is that what you did with Dad?" Draco snarled, looking fiercely at his mother. "Give me time and I will give you the social standing you want, but you need to allow me to do it on my own time."

Narcissa looked from Draco to Ginny and then back to her son. She saw the fierceness on his face and smirked, "No, this is not like your father and I. Do you want to know how I know? It's because you're already smitten with her."

Draco scoffed at this comment and went past his mother over toward his father and the banker. This thought continued within his head. I don't actually like the Weasley girl, I mean, how could I? She's got a temper, she mixes with the wrong people, and she has flaming red hair.

After ten minutes of listening to his father and the banker go back and forth talking about quotas, Draco managed to find Ginny sitting alone at one of the round tables. He slid down into the chair and did not turn his head toward Ginny, "so, did you tell anyone that you were coming here? Or were you too embarrassed?"

Ginny turned her head toward him and readjusted her feet. "I told Hermione in case anyone needed to get ahold of me, but other than that, no."

"What did Granger have to say about it?" Draco asked, knowing what her likely response would have been.

"She was surprised that your mother had asked me to be here, but she thought that it was good that I was going." Draco turned around to look at her now, with his mouth slightly open.

"She said that?" Draco asked incredulously.

"Yes. She thought that it would be a good networking opportunity for the both of us, seeing as I am trying to get a spot on a professional Quidditch team next season." Ginny said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Who would you want to play for?" Draco asked, now curious on the subject.

"My first choice would definitely be the Holyhead Harpies, but my second choice would be to play for Puddlemore United. Oliver Wood is playing with them now and he really enjoys it. He's friends with my older brothers." Ginny said, twirling her thumbs.

"If I remember right, you were a pretty fair Chaser and Seeker once you got the chance." Draco mentioned. He meant this as a compliment, but he had seen once he said it Ginny's face fell slightly.

"I prefer Chaser to Seeker, but I had to fill in for when my teammates were stupid. Chaser is better for me anyway. Puts pressure on me to do well no matter who finds the snitch." Draco had forgotten that she had only become Seeker because Potter had been banned in the 5th year and wasn't able to play in his 6th because he had attacked Draco.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before everyone started to settle down for the afternoon. Ginny was able to spark up more conversation about Quidditch and asked Draco about his life since the Battle of Hogwarts.

"It's been fine. This has probably been the most social interaction that I've had outside of my parents for a while, so I'm enjoying that." They both gave a small laugh and Draco gave a sigh. "How has your family been dealing with everything?"

Ginny couldn't tell if this was a genuine question or if it was going to later be used against her. "We're managing. Our house is full, but at the same time it feels empty." She felt a twinge of sadness hit her as thoughts of Fred resurfaced. "We're currently taking care of Andromeda's grandson while she is not feeling well and one of my brothers moved back in after the war. My brother's wife had a baby last week, so we went to St. Mungo's to meet her…" Ginny's voice trailed off as her mind began to wander again.

"And how have you been?" Draco asked earnestly.

Her eyes were glazed over as she tried not to look at Draco, "I'm sure you've seen the papers. I bet that's why your mother took pity on me and decided to invite me. Poor Ginny Weasley, her brother died and then the famous Harry Potter broke up with her in front of everyone." Her voice was quiet and shaken as she spoke. "I bet that's the reason why you're being so nice to me and not being a prat like all my brothers say you are."

She hung her head low and tried her best not to let anyone see her. "I don't know about what Potter did, but from what I see he's a slick git for doing it." Ginny slowly wiped one of her eyes and continued to look at her feet. "Second, I don't care about what your brother have said about me. I'm a different person from when they knew me. They want to think that I'm the bad guy, because they want to be the hero. Sometimes there aren't heroes and villains. Sometimes it's just people." He took his hand and gently wiped away one of the tears running down Ginny's cheek.

"I think I should go before I make a bigger scene." Ginny said, looking up to see a few sets of eyes staring at her and Draco.

"I'll walk you out." Draco said, getting up from his chair and helping her out of hers.

They walked silently from the back lawn to the front without saying a word. Once they got to the front, Ginny turned to him and said, "Please tell your mother I'm sorry for the early departure. Tell her I'm not feeling well and needed to go home."

"If you're not feeling well, then at least let me apparate you home."

Ginny stared at him with a soft gaze. She did not know if he was acting this way because of his upbringing or if he was genuinely concerned about her getting home. "I heard you apparate here and I feel like it might be best if I help you."

But she didn't want to need help. She didn't want to be saved. She wasn't a damsel in distress that couldn't do things for herself. She was a Weasley and was taught better than to need to be saved by a man. "I can apparate just fine thank you." She said curtly.

"Not from what I saw, please. I'll just drop you off on your street so that no one has to know that I helped you. I don't want you splinching yourself trying to get home." He extended his arm toward Ginny and she could feel that he was truly concerned. She reluctantly took his arm and they shot through the air and landed about a kilometer from the Burrow. It was the least uncomfortable apparation that Ginny had ever experienced, but she wasn't going to tell Malfoy that.

"See, now wasn't that easy Weasley?" Malfoy smiled at her, still holding onto her arm.

Ginny looked between her hand and Malfoy's face until he decided to let go. "I would have done fine by myself, thanks." She said as she started walking toward the Burrow.

"Weasley, wait."

Sharply turning around, Ginny looked at a panic stricken Draco. He seemed to want to say something, but couldn't figure out how he wanted to say it.

"Spit it out Malfoy, I haven't got all day."

"Spend the day with me tomorrow."

The words slipped out of his mouth and even though he tried to take back every stupid word he said, they stayed out there in the universe. Ginny stared at Draco for a long time, analyzing his facial expressions and seeing what he was really up to. "Why?"

It was a simple enough question to answer, but all of the answers that Draco had were things that he couldn't say. He couldn't tell her that his mother was trying to have them get married, he couldn't tell her it was because he felt alone and liked to be around her, and he definitely couldn't tell her that it was because he was beginning to have feelings for her.

"Because I want to see what you can do on a broomstick."

Sliding off of his tongue, it came out much smoother than he had anticipated it would. Ginny stared at Draco for a long time, before giving him a smile. "Alright Malfoy, you're on."


	3. Chapter 3

Going to the Malfoys had been a nice distraction for Ginny after pining over Harry for weeks. She could not figure out what Malfoy wanted, but her curiosity led her to say yes to flying around with Malfoy. What was she doing going around and saying that she would hang out with Draco Malfoy? How was she going to lie to her family again and say why she wouldn't be home for dinner? What was she expecting out of this meeting? Did she want to be friends with Draco? Was this just because she was trying to get her mind off of Harry?

These questions raced through her mind all day. Ron and Percy had gone off to help George at the shop, while Molly and Arthur were at Shell Cottage cooing over their first granddaughter. Surely her parents would be home before dinner and so she would have to make an excuse for her absence.

On her way out, Ginny left a note telling her parents she would be at Luna's and would not be home in time for dinner. She would fill in Luna later on the details. Grabbing her broomstick out of the shed, she marched away from the house and as she did, she heard a faint pop. Draco Malfoy appeared, holding two broomsticks in his arms. "Weasley, are you trying to get out of this?"

"Malfoy, I thought we were meeting somewhere else." Ginny said, her voice shaken.

"I decided to even the playing field by giving you one of my brooms." He extended one of the Cleansweeps in his hands. "It wouldn't be fair if you used your broom."

"How will I know that you haven't jinxed this broom?" Ginny stared at Draco with a quizzical look.

"Well, you're just going to have to trust me Weasley." He held his hand out farther and waited for Ginny to take the broom. She reluctantly took the broom and said, "Don't think that this makes you any better than me Malfoy."

"On the contrary, I'm trying to make it more even so that I can be happily surprised when I am beat by a girl." He gave her a wicked smile then mounted his broom. "You ready Weasley, or can you not keep up?"

Ginny threw her broom to the side and kicked up on the Cleansweep in her hands. "Where to Malfoy?"

"Follow me."

They flew over Ottery St. Catchpole and headed north. They sped through the clouds for about twenty five minutes before they landed to their destination. It was a place Ginny had never seen before, but it was a clear meadow filled with spots of flowers. "Alright Weasley, whoever can catch the snitch first, wins bragging rights."

She thought about this and said, "Why don't we make this more interesting."

"I'm listening" Draco offered.

"If I win, then…" she paused for a while, until a smile formed on her face and she said, "If I win, then you have to wear Gryffindor colors down Diagon Alley and wear a sign advertising for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes."

"Okay Weasley, but if I win, then you have to kiss me."

Ginny stopped and looked at Draco hard in the face. Was this his motive the entire time? Did Draco Malfoy like her or was he just trying to make a fool out of her in making her believe that he did when he doesn't? She could see Draco's heart pounding, even though he acted as though it wasn't. She held out her hand and said, "You're on."

Once they shook hands, they mounted their brooms and Draco took a box out of his pocket. When he opened the box, the snitch flew out and went straight up into the air. Ginny swept past Malfoy and tried to keep her eyes on the snitch, but lost sight of it once it went up toward the sun. A few minutes later, Malfoy spotted the snitch and dove toward it, but wasn't able to keep up with it. Thirty minutes had passed and neither were able to catch the snitch, but both had a lot to say about their opponent. "Malfoy, I think you'll look good in Gryffindor colors and I'm sure George will love the free publicity".

"You might want to save your lips for something a little sweeter Weasley instead of all that trash talk you're doing." He hollered from across the meadow. He couldn't tell if Ginny was getting tired or if she started blushing.

Twenty more minutes came and went, but neither were able to catch the snitch. Draco had been very close, but he lost his balance while trying to reach for it. Then, after almost an hour of searching, Ginny was able to find the snitch. She gained speed going towards and flew down to get closer to the snitch. Draco saw this and sped after her to try and decrease the lead that she had on him. He was able to catch up and was less than two arm lengths away. Ginny was on his right and she stretched out her hand, but the snitch took a hard left. Chasing after it, Ginny leaped toward the snitch and caught it. Unfortunately she accidentally knocked into Draco forcing him to fall off of his broom. They collided and toppled to the ground. Once Ginny sat up, she saw Draco holding onto the side of his face.

He let out a moan and held onto the right side of his face. "Malfoy, are you alright?" She asked, crawling towards him.

"I'm alright" he said stiffly, trying to sit up, but falling back down.

"Don't lie to me Malfoy, does it hurt?" Ginny asked, taking out her wand.

"What do you think you're going to do with that?" Draco asked pointing to her wand.

"If your face is broken, I want to fix it." Ginny said sternly, holding her wand tightly and uncovering where Draco's hands were.

"Weasley, my face isn't that awful to look at, is it?" He asked, smiling for a second, but then wincing at the pain.

Ginny examined his face closer and looked at his right cheek. It appeared to be swollen and extremely red, but it didn't look broken. "It's not broken," she said quietly, looking from his eyes to his cheek, "but you're going to have a nasty bruise tomorrow." She tried to softly touch his cheek with her hand, but he winced so much that she released the pressure. After a moment, their eyes locked on one another, until Ginny looked away.

Why had he not made a big deal about his pain? Why did he not say that his father would hear about this? Was he embarrassed about her or was he trying to act strong because he liked her? It took a while for her to speak, but she said, "I would feel awful making you go to Diagon Alley in Gryffindor colors with a bruised face. I think we should call it a tie."

Draco tried to bring his face up, but could only turn his head towards her. "No, I lost. Even if you did try to break my face in the process. A deal is a deal, and since you won I will do as you said-"

"I would feel awful" Ginny interjected. "I know that I won, but I don't feel like I won fairly."

"How do we make it fair then?" Draco asked, putting his hand up to block the sun from his eyes.

Ginny placed one hand on his chest and then placed her lips on his. It felt electric. She could feel his heart beating faster and hers did too. As her heart raced, she kissed him faster, but remained gentle to not hurt his cheek. Draco pulled her in closer with his hand on her back and she fell onto him. A smile crossed her lips and Draco gave a laugh. She pulled herself back up and looked down at him, smiling. "Are we even now?"

"Not yet." He said, pulling her back down towards his face. They stayed like this for a few more minutes before Ginny pulled away again. She sat upright this time and looked down at Draco Malfoy, whose grey eyes sparkled in the sunlight. "Not bad Weasley." He winced after he gave a small smirk.

"Oh shut up Malfoy" Ginny teased. "That was for a bet."

"If all my bets went like that, I would gladly have my face broken by you any day of the week." He said, smiling with the left side of his face.

"Your face isn't broken" Ginny laughed, "but your hair is."

Ginny ruffled her hands through Draco's hair and he could not have been happier. Her hands felt smooth going through his hair and he couldn't help but give a small moan. She looked in his eyes again and he looked into hers. He had never opened himself up to someone else as much as he had opened up to Ginny. Did she have magical powers that caused her to open up the closed off box that is Draco Malfoy? Draco couldn't hide the pain he felt on his face, but he couldn't stop smiling either.

Two weeks ago, Draco hadn't thought anything of Ginny besides the fact that she was a Weasley. Within two days, Ginny was able to get Draco to open up his heart through her opening up hers to him. He couldn't believe how much love he felt from Ginny and how safe he felt when she was around. It was like no one else before her had mattered and no one after her will matter as well.

She stopped fussing with his hair and put her hand on the other side of his waist so she was leaning over him. "So, how are we going to get you home?"

"Well, I know one thing." Draco said, "I'm not side apparating to you. I don't need another injury."

Ginny sighed and said, "Alright Malfoy, looks like I'm going to have to fly you home." She stood up and brushed herself off. Once she was up, she extended her hand to Draco and helped him up. Their faces came close together, but Ginny took a step back once Draco was standing. She gave him back the snitch and said, "You stay here and I'll get the brooms."

Draco pocketed the snitch as she picked up the two broomsticks and handed one to Draco. "Hold onto this one while I fly you home." Draco didn't mind the added attention that he was getting from Ginny, even if he had been knocked off his broom. They mounted one broom and the other Draco placed across his lap. Ginny kicked off as Draco held on with one arm around her and the other on the second broom. He could tell that she was intentionally flying slower than when they came to the meadow, but he didn't mind the extra time he had to have her in his arm.

They landed safely at Malfoy manor as it started to get dark. Ginny turned to Draco and asked him if he would be alright.

"I'll be alright" he reassured her. "I've come back from worse."

Ginny gave a small smile and turned toward the entrance gate of the manor. After walking a few stepped, she whipped her flaming red hair around and said, "Forget about the deal, we tied."

"But what about-"

"Trust me, we're even." Ginny smiled as her face turned as bright red as her hair. "Goodnight". With a loud _CRACK_ she was gone.

"Goodnight Ginny" Draco whispered as he held onto his cheek. He picked up both brooms and went inside. He stashed the brooms in the indoor closet and headed towards his room. On his way he heard, "Draco, would you come in here for a minute?"

Narcissa was waiting for him in the high armed chair. "Did you have fun Draco?" She asked with a toothy grin.

"I did." Draco said as he came into the room and into the light.

"What happened to your face?" Narcissa asked, rushing toward him and fussing over him.

"Ginny and I were playing Quidditch" Draco said, as he felt the snitch in his trousers. "It's nothing. She said I will probably have a bruise in the morning, but that's fine."

Narcissa examined her son more carefully and asked him if he needed his brain checked. "I'm seriously fine mother, but I should be off to bed." He headed towards his room again, when his mother followed him to the stairs.

"Draco," she said warningly as he was almost half way to his room, "remember, this is a social transaction."

Draco nodded to his mother and bid her a good night. He got to his room and when he shut the door he was able to relive the favorite moments of his day. In his room, he was able to forget about everything his mother said and completely focus on the way he felt about Ginny. She gave him hope that she had felt the same way, but he needed to remind himself that it had only been one date. Draco knew that he was definitely in trouble when he realized how much he really cared about Ginny Weasley.


	4. Chapter 4

It had been two weeks since Ginny saw Draco and she could not stop thinking about the time they spent together. She tried to distract herself by helping George out at the joke shop, or by visiting Bill and Fleur with little Victorie, but nothing worked. She wouldn't be able to use the family owl without creating additional questions. If she was being honest with herself, she didn't know what to feel about Draco. Firstly, she wasn't able to communicate to him on a first name basis. Secondly, he had been a Death Eater and his father had given her Tom Riddle's diary. Thirdly, the Malfoys were a family that the Weasleys loathed and vice versa. It would not work well for her in the end to have feelings for Draco Malfoy. What if this was all a trick and he was doing this to get back at Ron or her family for some reason.

Ginny had told Hermione about the tea party, but she hadn't told her about the Quidditch practice. Luna knew that Ginny needed to lie about where she had been, but she never said where she had gone.

Lying in bed, Ginny could not command her body to get up. Instead, she decided that she would lay in bed for another twenty minutes until her mum was sure to wake her up because she was being lazy. Another hour passed by and no one came to wake Ginny. Sitting up in bed, she stretched her arms and gave a big yawn. Looking over to her window, she saw a grey speckled owl perched on the ledge, tapping it's foot to be let in. Leaping from her bed, Ginny tumbled onto the floor. Getting up, she ran the rest of the way to let the bird in. It hooted happily at her and stuck its leg out. Ginny opened the letter as the owl flew out the window.

 _Dear Miss Weasley,_

 _Last week, my mother had a very impromptu dinner party for her friends. One of those in attendance was Professor Slughorn. He asked what happened to my face and I had told him the wonderful story about how you broke it. I told him this story, not to embarrass you, but in the hopes that he would tell his prize student about you. We started talking about the Holyhead Harpies and discussed how we both thought you would be a wonderful addition to the team. He then discussed this subject with Ms. Gwenog Jones and she agreed that you should have a tryout. She agreed to meet with you on Friday the 28_ _th_ _. Be at the Harpies' Stadium 9 o clock sharp._

 _Best of luck._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Draco Malfoy_

Ginny's heart was leaping out of her chest. Gwenog Jones knew about her and wanted to give her a tryout. She had never thought to ask Slughorn before because it seemed too ostentatious for her to boast about her own Quidditch skills. Ginny wanted to run downstairs and tell everyone what had happened, but she couldn't because she would have to tell them all about her spending time with the Malfoys. Lying wouldn't work because her parents would talk to Slughorn and he would tell the whole story. She wouldn't be able to keep this secret from her family, but she knew that she could not tell them about Draco Malfoy just yet.

"Ginny! Come downstairs, your breakfast has gone cold." Molly Weasley shouted from the ground floor.

Hurrying down the stairs, after safely stashing away Draco's letter, Ginny could not keep the smile off of her face. Mrs. Weasley looked at her daughter once and then a second time to make sure she was seeing right. "Ginny, what's happened?"

"I got a tryout with the Holyhead Harpies!" Ginny squealed, running to her mother. Unable to contain her excitement, Molly wrapped her arms around her daughter and squeezed her tight. "That's wonderful news Ginny!"

Upon hearing all of the noise, Arthur Weasley ran in from the backyard and looked from his wife to his daughter. Responding to his questioning look, Ginny said, "I got a tryout with the Holyhead Harpies!" Arthur beamed from ear to ear and could not contain his excitement. "That's my girl!" He shouted, coming closer to her and Molly.

"How did they find out about you?" Mrs. Weasley asked excitedly.

Ginny thought about it, but then decided to tell half of the truth. "Gwenog Jones apparently heard about me and offered me a tryout, isn't that great?!" Her parents surrounded her with a hug and kissed the top of her head.

"This is a cause for celebration!" Molly said while party planning in her head.

"I don't want a big fuss. Especially if I don't make the team, so could we just wait to have a party until after the tryouts?" Mrs. Weasley gave her daughter a smile and said, "Of course."

"When is the tryout?" Arthur asked.

"This Friday at 9 am sharp." Ginny replied.

"Well, you are going to need a full breakfast before you go, so I will help you get up extra early." Molly said, trying to think of the best breakfast to make.

"And I'm sure your brothers will help you practice today and tomorrow. I know Percy is available." Arthur offered.

"No offense dad, but if I'm going to be training for a Quidditch team, I'm going to need a stronger opponent than Percy." Ginny said with a slight grin.

The next day, Ginny had an all-day practice with Bill, Charlie, George, and Ron, who had all taken time from work to help her practice. She played all four positions, but still felt strongest at Chaser. Molly fed them each a hearty dinner and sent them home so Ginny could rest for her big day.

No matter what she tried, Ginny was not able to sleep. She was too busy being focused on her tryouts that it made it difficult to focus on sleeping. Draco Malfoy would occasionally pop into her mind, but it was always followed by her beating him out for the snitch. Closing her eyes, her last thought was of the feeling that she'd had when she kissed Draco Malfoy.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Draco was impatiently waiting to see how Ginny had done on her tryouts. He had sent his owl hours ago and was expecting that she would write to him telling him all about it. Maybe this was too much to ask of someone whom he wasn't dating, but he felt that since he had gotten her the tryout that she would tell him how it went. Looking out his window, he paced fervently, hoping that an owl would come.

As he watched out his window, he heard a loud _CRACK_ come from outside. He saw a red-haired girl sitting on the ground. Running out of his room, into the hallway, down the stairs, and out the door he found Ginny and knelt down next to her. Her face was red, her hair messy, and she had dirt covering her freckles. This all however, could not mask the smile permanently plastered on her face. "I'm in!" She shouted, wrapping her arms around Draco, which caused him to fall in the dirt.

Draco could not explain the joy that he felt for Ginny. He had done something nice for another person, without expecting anything in return. Lightning bolts felt like they were shooting up and down his spine as he held onto Ginny tightly.

Ginny held onto Draco tighter, but this would not release all of the excitement that she had. Lifting up her face, Ginny looked at Draco and crashed her face into his. This was unlike the first time they had kissed, it was much faster and had more passion in it. She lifted her head up and saw Draco Malfoy laying in the dirt smiling up at her. "You've really got to stop pushing me to the ground and kissing me Weasley. People are going to get the wrong impression."

Ginny slowly sat up from where she was with a confused look etched on her face, "And what might that be Malfoy?"

Draco sat up straight and ruffled his hair. He didn't know exactly what it would have meant, but he couldn't take back the words he had said. "I just feel like if you're going to continue to snog me that we should at least be dating or something…" His voice trailed off so much at the end that Ginny could barely hear him, but she did end up catching every word he said.

"Is that what you want?" Ginny asked curiously, looking at her shoes.

"I think my feelings have been very clear" Draco said, "It's more about what you want."

She paused for a moment and then spoke what she felt, "If we were to date, I would want us to be able to call each other by our first names without it being weird. Secondly, I'd want to tell my family on my own terms and not worry about what others say. So until my family knows, I don't want anyone to know."

Draco blinked a few times, then asked, "Why does this have to be a secret?"

"Our families come from different worlds" Ginny began, "and I want them to understand where we are coming from. Once I tell them, then you can tell whoever you want." Her hair fell in her face and she swiped it to the back. "Please, I just want to tell them on my own time."

"Okay Ginny." Draco chimed sweetly.

"Okay Draco." Ginny said softly.


	5. Chapter 5

It turned to late summer as Ginny's birthday fast approached. Draco pleaded for her to tell her family, but Ginny could not muster up the courage to do it. This was the topic of their first argument.

"Why won't you tell your family about us? It's been two months Ginny."

"I know, I know" she huffed, turning around on him wildly, "I'm just not ready for them to know. I like things the way they are right now and my family would most definitely ruin that."

"What is the worst that could happen?" Draco scoffed.

"Ron would probably hex you, while the rest of my family locks me in the attic with the family troll. Taking turns guarding all exits." Ginny stared at Draco looking for a reaction, but she did not get one.

"That's highly irrational Ginny-"

"Not with my family. I'm their only daughter, so they are overly protective. They don't know you like I do…" Her voice trailed off into silence.

"I wouldn't want to know your brothers the way that I know you" Draco smiled. Ginny gave him a small nudge on the side and moved away from his desk to sitting on his bed. "Relax Ginny, I'm sure that once they get over the shock then they are going to be okay with us."

Draco walked toward Ginny and gave her forehead a small kiss. She smiled and looked up at him. "I bet you 10 galleons they won't be."

"I'll pay you 10 galleons if they aren't, but if they are then I want something else." He grinned at her and she gave a small smile.

"You already get snogged, so I don't know why you'd want-"

"Not that Weasley."

Ginny stopped awnd stared at Draco. She lifted her head up farther so that she could get a better look at what he meant. "I want you to tell me that I was right and you were wrong." Cringing at the thought of having to tell someone she had been wrong revolted her, but when it came to her family she knew how they would react.

"You're on Malfoy" she grinned, looking up at his pale face. In the middle of summer he was wearing a long sleeved shirt and trousers. Ginny gave a small tug on the bottom of his shirt and said, "Come on Draco, aren't you hot?"

"I'll leave that up to you to determine" he said modestly moving backward.

"No, I mean, I don't think I've ever seen you without a dress shirt and trousers on. Even when it's 32 degrees out you still wear those clothes." Ginny hopped off the bed and got closer to Draco, eliminating the gap between them. "Have you got an embarrassing tattoo that I should know about?" Ginny teased.

"No, I'm just so used to wearing th-" before Draco could finish, Ginny grabbed onto his shirt and started unbuttoning it. "Ginny, please don't-"

"Draco, what could possibly be so bad-" Ginny got to the bottom of his shirt and looked up. Faint scar marks were on his torso, Ginny tore the rest of his shirt off and saw similar marks on his back, shoulders, and arms. She gasped for a moment and continued to examine his upper body. Trying to find her voice, Ginny looked up into his eyes, but his did not meet hers. "How… who… I can't believe this."

"Dark magic leaves traces." Draco said plainly, looking just over Ginny's head. "I don't like to be reminded of it."

Ginny's fingers traced one of the scar lines and it made Draco shudder. "Who would do this to you?" she asked, eyes gazing up at him.

Draco paused for several minutes before responding, "Potter."

Ginny's entire body froze as she remembered the Sectumsempra spell that Harry cast on Draco in her fifth year. She had assumed that this had happened to him more recently or while he was with the Death Eaters, but she couldn't have imagined that these scars and been caused by someone she used to love. "I'm sorry," she said in a quiet voice. Not knowing what else she could do, Ginny wrapped her arms around Draco and held him without speaking a word.

He held his arms around her as she nuzzled her head into his chest. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't think of anything more comforting than their hug. He rested the side of his head onto hers and they stayed like this for what felt like days. Draco felt a tear fall on his stomach as Ginny tried to cover a sniffle with a cough. He lifted up her head to see her brown eyes glistening with tears. "Don't get soft on me Weasley" he said with a small grin, "I'm here with you aren't I? Spell could have killed me, but it didn't." Bending down, Draco leaned in to kiss Ginny. She got on her tip toes and her hands tightened on his back. Pushing herself into him more she felt air escape from his mouth. Her lips intertwined with his for several minutes and when they finally released, all Draco could do was smile.

Ginny travelled back to the Burrow by floo powder so to not attract any unwanted attention from the Daily Prophet. After she brushed the soot off, she turned to the dining room where her parents, Ron, and George were sitting having a meal. "Ginny, where have you been?" Her mother asked interrogatively.

"Diagon Alley. I was looking at broomsticks, but I didn't find one that I liked." Ginny lied, making her way toward the stairs.

"Did you stop by the store?" George asked curiously.

"Yeah, Verity said that you were here" Ginny lied again.

She almost made it halfway up the stairs before George said, "Verity is on holiday right now. Where were you really? And why are your eyes so-"

"None of your business George." Ginny snapped. Out of all of her brothers, Ginny hated yelling at George, but she couldn't think of anything else to say. She ran up the rest of the stairs and swiftly shut her door.

Mumbling to herself, she went toward her window and whispered, "You wouldn't understand."

"Then help me try" George said, opening the door and closing it. "You haven't been yourself recently Gin, and we're just trying to help." He sat quietly on her bed and motioned for her to join him. "Is this about Harry?" he asked cautiously.

"Not directly." Ginny muttered, slinking down next to her brother. She didn't have the heart to lie to her brother again, but she knew that she couldn't tell him the full truth without him telling the whole family. "There's a guy that I've been seeing and I don't think anyone will approve of him."

George gave a hearty laugh, "This is all over a guy that you think we won't approve of?"

"I know you won't and neither will Ron." Ginny mumbled, twiddling her thumbs in her lap. "I just want you all to like him."

"Well, I can't say for sure whether I will like him or not, but if you really like him, then I will give the poor bloke a chance to impress me." George smiled, putting an arm around his sister's shoulder. "Anyone brave enough to come into this house and meet all of our family is worthy opponent. But we're not going to let him off easy just because you like him."

"I'm sure you won't,' Ginny sighed, feeling relieved that she could at least talk to one of her brothers now.

Talking to Ron was completely out of the question. He was still torn apart by the fact that Harry had gone missing without telling him where he had gone. Ron suspected that Harry had been taken, but the Aurors could not find any information that led to that conclusion. Added on to the death of Fred, Ginny was not sure that Ron would be able to take this news very well.


	6. Chapter 6

August 10th had arrived and Molly Weasley was busily preparing for her daughter's 18th birthday downstairs. Ginny came down the steps and hugged her mother hello. "Mum, is it alright if I invite someone for my birthday tomorrow?"

"Of course Ginny! Were you thinking of inviting Luna or Neville?" Her mother asked curiously.

"No," Ginny said coyly, "a different friend from school."

"Alright dear, I'll set another place for your friend from school." Molly bustled past her daughter and rearranged the table to set another place. Ginny was grateful for the lack of questions that she was asked.

She returned to her room and packed her bag for practice. Picking up her things, Ginny raced down the stairs and out the door to apparate to Wales.

When she returned from an exhausting practice, Ginny threw her stuff into the corner of her room and fell onto her bed. It was nearly 12 pm and she could not move a muscle. She had been hit by several bludgers and was knocked into a dozen times. Ginny enjoyed Quidditch very much, but it took a lot out of her.

She was about to fall asleep as she heard a tapping noise coming from her window. Expecting it to be an owl, she opened up her window, but the owl wasn't sitting on the ledge. Instead, Draco Malfoy was hovering on his broomstick just below her window. "Figured I would give you this before my death wish tomorrow." Ginny rushed him through her window as he fumbled over her desk and onto her floor.

"You're barking mad coming here late at night while everyone is here." Ginny hissed, looking at Draco fiercely. "Any one of my family members could have seen you."

"Are you saying that you would rather I didn't show up unannounced on the night before your birthday to surprise you with a gift?" He teased, putting his hand out showing a small box. "Because I can take it back if you'd like."

Sighing, Ginny said, "It isn't that I'm unhappy to see you. I just wish you would have warned me or something."

"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise." Draco smiled, placing the small, square box in Ginny's hand. "Open it."

Ginny's hands trembled as she opened up the box. Inside was a small necklace that had a sapphire stone dangling from the chain. Ginny stared from Draco to the necklace and said, "I can't take this Draco, this is too much. Sapphire is extremely expensive…"

"You're worth it and more." He said, looking pleased. "Besides, it will look good with your eyes."

Ginny couldn't find words and let Draco put the necklace on her. After he clasped it together, he gave her neck a small and slow kiss. He felt her shiver and turn around to him. "Draco… we can't do that here." His breath continued to hit her neck. "No, my whole family is here, you have to go." She softly pushed him away, but he pulled her arms back to him.

"Relax Weasley, no one is around." He whispered close to her ear and started to kiss it.

Ginny pushed him away again, but this time she used more force. "You have to leave" she pleaded, hearing footsteps on the stairs.

"Don't be so scared Weasley," he whispered, "I'll be quiet."

He pulled her in close and started kissing her neck. First on the right side and then he moved to the left. "Draco…" she whispered, "Please, you have to go." She could now feel his body pressed up tightly against hers. His hands digging into her back. "Draco…" His lips moved to hers and he began to play with her tongue.

Her hands groped for his back and pulled his shirt up so her smooth hands could run across his back. They kissed fiercely and held onto each other tighter. She moved onto kissing his neck and slid her hands down the sides of his trousers. Draco felt himself losing control and wanting more from Ginny. As she kissed his neck his hands moved from her back to under her shirt. His hands stayed around her waist until her lips found his again and his hands began to move up.

Ginny's body felt smooth and warm. She had the right amount of athletic tone to her body. Draco slowly felt a loss of control when his hands reached Ginny's breasts. He didn't really know what to do, he felt clumsy and embarrassed because he had never done this before. Ginny's hands reached under Draco's pants and he couldn't help but gasp. Draco stopped everything and let Ginny kiss his mouth. He felt elated and hadn't felt anything like this before. Ginny's hands roamed around more and gently slid up and down.

Draco began to tremble a little as Ginny pulled his trousers up to hers. He hadn't done anything like this before. He had boasted to Zabini and Goyle that he had, but he had never done it. Ginny's lips slowed as her hands came back up to his back. Draco lowered his arms to her waist as he slowly kissed her back. "Ginny…" he whispered.

"Shhhh." Ginny quieted him down, pressing herself hard into him. He pressed back and pushed her gently into the wall. She wrapped her leg around his and played with his tongue. Draco now noticed that his trousers were tighter and felt Ginny giggle.

"What?" He breathed, trying to catch some air.

"I think I'm actually falling for a Malfoy." She grinned, watching his facial expression. He laughed and felt her lips touch his again.

Her clock chimed midnight and they split apart. "Happy Birthday Ginny Weasley."

They stood in silence for a while, just being with one another. Ginny looked up at Draco and smiled. She hadn't felt this way about someone in a long time and yearned to have that connection. She wanted him to stay, but didn't want anything else to happen physically. She had reached her limit, but just wanted to talk to him all night. Even though she felt this way, she murmured, "You should probably go. We have a big day today."

Draco kissed her one last time on the forehead and gave her a hug. He readjusted his shirt and trousers, then picked up his broom and apparated from his spot with a faint "pop". Ginny got into her pajamas and hopped into bed thinking, "this might not be a bad birthday afterall."

0o0o0o0o0o0o

Draco apparated back into his room and fell onto his bed. He didn't know what had come over him, but he had wanted so badly to be intimate with Ginny. He couldn't explain why he wouldn't leave, but he felt like he had to feel something with her. He wanted this unimaginable feeling and he had gotten so close that he could feel it. Draco didn't want to push Ginny into anything that she wasn't ready for, but the more he had her, the more he wanted of her.

A small knock came on Draco's door. "Come in." He said, trying to sound normal.

Lucius Malfoy entered the room followed by his wife Narcissa. "So Draco, how did your night with the Weasley girl go?" His father sneered, being prodded by Narcissa to gain information from their son. "Were you able to _get anything_?"

"I'm not discussing that with you." Draco snarled, ruffling his hair and kicking off his shoes.

"I told you he couldn't do it," Narcissa hissed, looking from her husband to her son, "Draco, you must move faster or she will never fall in love with you."

"If I take it too fast then she won't be able to love me either, so _get off my back_ mother." Draco turned away from his parents.

"Don't use that tone with your mother," Lucius warned, hold his wand firmly in his hand.

"You have to play by my rules, because without me, you will have nothing. No daughter-in-law, no grandchildren, and no social life, so back off." Draco barked, turning toward his parents again.

Narcissa and Lucius moved toward the door and closed it shut. On the way to their room, Narcissa said, "We have to do something about this."

Lucius took her hand and pat it, saying "We will."


	7. Chapter 7

Ginny woke up and took a long shower on the morning of her birthday. It appeared that she was the first one awake in her family, so she took her time getting ready. She wanted today to go well, but knew that her family would have a difficult time adjusting to her and Draco's relationship.

Ron was the one she was most worried about. He had never gotten along with Draco while he was in school and the whole "his dad gave her Tom Riddle's diary" bit was difficult to get over, but she had hope.

Hearing a noise from downstairs, Ginny opened the door and went down the stairs to see what was happening. At the doorstep Ginny found George and Percy blocking the doorway while she heard Ron from the yard. "What do you think you're doing here Malfoy?" Ron roared, who was still in his pajamas.

Ginny pushed her way between Percy and George, who gave her a quizzical look. "That's really not how you should greet your guests Weasley, it's very impolite." Ron's face grew red and he stepped closer to Draco.

"Say one wrong thing Malfoy and I swear I will send you to St. Mungo's." Ron's face was almost purple now and had puffed up more than its normal size.

"I merely stated that you should talk to your guests more politely-"

"Like hell you're a guest in my house. Why don't you bugger off and find someone else's birthday to ruin." Ginny had caught up to where Ron and Draco were currently having a row. "Go on Ginny, this is none of your business, Malfoy was just about to leave."

"No he wasn't." Ginny said flatly. Ron rounded on her and stared her in the face.

" _You're saying that you invited the ferret to your birthday_?" Ron asked, in a fiercely hushed tone.

"I invited Malfoy to my birthday. Yes. If you have a problem with it then go talk to somebody who cares-" Ron grabbed his sister by the wrist and started pulling her toward the Burrow. "Ron! Let go of me!"

Ron continued to drag his younger sister toward the house until he felt a large tug on his hand. Ginny sat down so hard on the ground that it forced Ron to fall over. "Play nice" Ginny ordered as she gritted her teeth.

"I will if he does." Ron said, glaring in what Ginny assumed to be Draco's direction. Draco caught up to Ginny and Ron then offered each of them a helping hand up. Ginny took his hand gracefully as Ron scoffed it away, brushing himself off.

Ron led Ginny back to the Burrow while keeping an eye on Draco at all times. Ginny caught George's eye of surprise as he looked from her to Draco. Ron shoved Ginny inside and marched upstairs to change. Percy slicked his hair more and George coughed as Draco entered the Burrow. Molly and Arthur were now in the room after leaving the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley stared at Draco for a moment and then at her daughter. Mr. Weasley however, had a stern look on his face. He had not forgotten about Draco and his father and what that meant for him at the Ministry. Mr. Weasley stepped closer to his daughter and continued to stare at the new person standing in his house. Clasping his hands tightly together, Mr. Weasley said, "Mr. Malfoy, what a surprise."

"Hello Mr. Weasley," Draco said confidently, holding out his hand. Mr. Weasley stared at Draco's extended hand for quite some time before shaking it. Molly stood back and watched her husband's interactions with the young boy. "You have a lovely home Mrs. Weasley." Draco offered, looking past Mr. Weasley at Mrs. Weasley.

Arthur squeezed Draco's hand tighter as a warning in case Draco was insincere. "Thank you." Mrs. Weasley said from behind Arthur. "You'll be joining us for lunch then I assume," Mrs. Weasley said cheerfully, gathering plates and placing them on the table.

"If that's alright with Ginny of course," Draco said, looking toward her for a small look of comfort.

"I invited him, he can stay." Ginny said not for Draco's benefit, but to her father and brothers.

After they all dispersed, George came around toward Ginny and mumbled with a wink, "Bill and Fleur may not even notice he's here with how little sleep they're getting." Even if they weren't meant to be, these encouraging words from George helped lift Ginny's spirits.

Bill arrived ten minutes later, saying that Victoire and Fleur weren't feeling well and that they had to stay home. It was not until Charlie arrived that Bill even noticed Draco's blonde haired presence. Charlie gave Draco a firm handshake and a hello before going into the kitchen to say hi to his mum.

Ginny and Draco had a minute of alone time, until Ron came back downstairs, moodier than he had been before. Molly ushered them to sit at the table, but Ron sat down next to Ginny before Draco could. Instead, Draco sat next to George, who sat opposite Ginny. "It's nice to have everyone home," Molly gushed, "especially to celebrate such a special birthday. To Ginny, a wonderful daughter who is blossoming into a wonderful woman."

"Here, here" chimed George, clinking his glass to Draco's.

The conversation stayed around Quidditch and how everyone thought that the Harpies were doing much better since Ginny arrived on the team. Draco had only spoken a few times when George had directed a question at him. Then, Arthur started asking questions about muggles and how they went on with their lives without magic. Draco caught Ginny's eye a few times, but every time he did he also met Ron's and quickly looked away.

After cake, Ginny opened a few presents from her brothers and one from her parents. There was another that Ron said was from Hermione in the window. She thanked everyone for coming and stood up to lead Draco out the door. "We made it" she whispered, knowing that her family would inevitably be listening to their conversation. She saw Ron's face staring at them through the window and moved further from the door. Draco however, did not see Ron and said "Want to snog my face off later?" Ginny watched as Ron's face left the window and slammed through the door.

"Oi!" Ron's wand was raised as Draco stumbled to grab his. "Get away from my sister!"

"Ron-" Ginny shouted as a spark of orange went underneath her outstretched arm and missed Draco.

"Ginny, move out of my way," Ginny had not seen Ron this angry since she had caught him snogging Dean Thomas in a deserted corridor. His face was murderous as he tried to aim his wand around his sister.

"Leave him alone Ron," Ginny ordered as she tried to knock Ron's wand from his hand, but his hand remained firmly gripped around his wand.

"You touch my sister and I swear to Merlin you will not be living, is that clear Malfoy?" Ron bellowed, pushing into Ginny and he gave his threat. "You touch my sister and you die."

"Ron!" Ginny shouted, as another orange spark ran underneath her arm. Fortunately, Draco was able to deflect it. "Ron, stop it!"

Another flash of light sparked from Ron's wand and Ginny tackled her brother to the ground. "Have you gone mad Ron?!" Ginny asked, her face turning a violent shade of red.

"I'd like to ask you the same question!" Ron spat, looking to see if his jinx had worked. After seeing a look of dissatisfaction on Ron's face, she knew that Draco had been okay. "What are you doing inviting Malfoy into our house? After all his father has done to Dad, after what he's done to me, and after his father gave you Tom Riddle's diary? After all of that you still allow him to come into our house like _nothing has changed?_ "

Ginny looked back at Draco, who had been knocked on the ground and was panting to get air. "You may have forgotten Ginny," Ron continued, "But he and his father were Death Eaters. They were against us and helped fight alongside You-Know-Who!" Ron's face was absolutely purple now and he continued to scream, "Does none of that matter to you?! If it hadn't been for Harry _you would have died in that chamber because of his father._ "

Ginny staggered up in silence, kicking Ron's wand out of his hand. "He also lied to save Harry when the Death Eaters were asking questions. His mother also lied to Voldemort and told him that Harry was dead. You're making him out to be a villain because you want to be the hero Ron!" Ginny roared angrily. "And it's none of your business who I choose to snog or not!"

He stopped for a second, then his gaze returned to Malfoy, who could not hold back a grin on his face. Reaching for his wand, Ron found it and yelled "Castreo!" Draco made a thunderous groan and held himself as he curled up into a ball. Ron pushed Ginny to the ground and charged toward Malfoy, wand in hand. Ginny ran behind Ron, but a spell knocked her out of the way. Ron towered over Draco and raised his foot to kick Draco squarely in the nose. "That one's for Harry." He grunted, "And stay the hell away from my sister." With a swift kick in the stomach, Ron had finished and began walking away from Malfoy.

She managed to shove Ron on her way to Draco and saw that he was bleeding from his nose. "I'm so sorry, I'm so incredibly sorry." Ginny watched as Draco tilted his head up to keep the blood from dripping out his nose. "Do you want me to fix it for you?"

Draco grinned and said, "I guess I owe you ten galleons."

Ginny didn't find this funny in the moment and raised her wand to fix his nose.

"Episkey".

He let out another loud groan and covered his nose. "I didn't realize that my face would take such a beating dating a Weasley."

"Try getting married to one," it slipped from Ginny's lips and as soon as the words came out she regretted them. She wished for nothing else than to turn back time and not let those words escape from her mouth.

"I might just have to." Draco said, looking toward Ginny, whose face had gone scarlet red.


	8. Chapter 8

Ginny felt her face go red as Draco suggested he might want to marry her. This feeling was short-lived, however, because Molly and Arthur came running out toward them. Molly held a rag cloth in her hand as she rushed over to the pair. "Are you alright?" She asked, fussing over Draco and handing him the cloth for his nose.

"I should be alright," Draco said, taking the cloth, "But thank you Mrs. Weasley."

"Please excuse my family," Mr. Weasley said, "We're all quite protective of Ginny."

Draco quietly wondered to himself if Harry Potter had this much trouble when he first dated Ginny or if it was purely because of his family. This thought was interrupted by Mrs. Weasley asking, "Do you need help getting up dear?"

"I think I'm going to stay in this spot for a little while if that's alright with you Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," he said, moaning.

"Are you sure that you don't want to rest on our couch dear? It's quite comfortable." Mrs. Weasley added earnestly.

"I should be alright Mrs. Weasley. I just need a minute before I can apparate back." Draco said, trying to act as though his body was not in severe pain.

"You couldn't possibly apparate back like this," Mrs. Weasley said with a frown. "What would your mother say if her son came back with a bloody nose and a bruised abdomen?"

Draco knew that he could have made a joke, but had a sinking suspicion that Mrs. Weasley was not in a joking mood. "No, you're coming back inside." Mrs. Weasley ordered, looking to the door for one of her sons. "George! Come help instead of standing in the doorway." George emerged from the doorway and came toward the two couples. "You and Ginny are going to help him to the couch, now hurry before he loses any more blood."

George and Ginny did as their mother said and wrapped Draco's arms over their shoulders. Molly and Arthur took the lead and went in to warn the other boys to behave. George gave a quiet cough before saying, "You know, if Ginny thinks that you're decent, I'll give you a shot."

"Thanks," Draco said sincerely.

Once they reached the couch and laid Draco down, Ginny went to go get a damp towel for Draco's face. George leaned down to Draco and said in a hushed tone, "But if you hurt her… She's going to be the one you have to worry about, not Ron… she's much better at hexes."

"I remember being on the receiving end of a particularly good Bat-Bogey Hex" Draco recounted from his fifth year when he was in the inquisitorial squad.

George gave him a pat on the shoulder and went upstairs to find Ron. Ginny came back with a damp towel and hot tea. "Mum said to bring this for you," Ginny offered, setting the tea on the side table as she sat next to him on the couch. Draco grabbed Ginny's hand and felt her warm touch fill him up inside.

"Thank you for taking care of me," he said quietly holding her hand.

"It's the least I could do," Ginny said brushing it off, "After all, my brother did kick you in the-"

"No, I mean it Ginny, thank you." Ginny couldn't understand why Draco had to thank her for doing the right thing. But before she could ask him, Draco's eyes slowly closed and he was fast asleep.

Draco woke up on the Weasley's couch as their family clock chimed 3 am. He awoke with a blanket draped over him and a cold sandwich on the table. Ginny had fallen asleep next to the couch with her hand laid lightly on his own. Looking around the room, Draco saw several family photographs with all nine Weasleys smiling happily at the camera. Another photograph looked newer with a small baby girl laughing in her parents' arms. Ginny appeared to be fast asleep. In an attempt to not wake her, Draco reached for the sandwich with his free hand that was not being held by Ginny's. He was able to finish the sandwich and sit up on the couch. Ginny stirred a little, but quickly rested her head back down.

He then decided to pick Ginny up and bring her to bed. She lazily wrapped her arms around him and half opened her eyes. "Draco?" She asked hoarsely.

"Shhh" he whispered, carrying her quietly up the steps. He carried her to her room and opened the door. He placed her on her bed and put the covers over her. Without warning, Ginny grabbed Draco's hand tiredly and said, "Stay."

Draco wanted nothing more than to do just that, but he knew that nothing good would come from him spending the night with the Weasleys. "I have to go Ginny"

"I don't want to be alone," she mumbled, "Stay here with me."

"Ginny…"

"Please."

Her eyes were now open widely and were begging him to stay.

"I'll stay until you fall asleep," he said, going over to close her bedroom door. "And no funny business" he teased.

Ginny scooted to one side of her bed and patted where Draco should lay. He climbed in and put his arm around her, shaping his body to hers. He felt Ginny breathe deeply and he saw her toes curl in. It felt right snuggling with Ginny. It might not have been under the best circumstances, but he was grateful for the time that he had with her.

Once Ginny had safely fallen asleep, Draco got out from under the covers and slipped out her door. Quietly he tip-toed down the stairs and went out the front door. The light next to the door shined brightly in his face. Draco thought he heard a clicking noise coming from the chicken coop, but he ignored it.

Once he was far away, to insure that he would not wake any of the Weasleys, Draco apparated from the Burrow to Malfoy Manor. When he came inside, he saw a light on in the living room. "Draco?" called his mother's voice from the other room. He entered the living room with a house elf trailing him.

"Yes, mother?" he asked, knowing what she would ask him next.

"Did you finish the deed?" his mother asked pryingly.

"As I said before, mother that is none of your business."

"Why won't you do it?" Narcissa hissed, "Do you not like this Weasley girl?"

"That's not true," Draco said firmly.

"Or is the problem that you love her?" Narcissa jeered. "You've fallen for that red-headed weasel and want to marry her for _love_ , don't you?"

Draco turned on his heels and gave a stiff "Goodnight, mother."

Before he could leave, Narcissa made a snide comment, "Be careful Draco. Don't underestimate my power. You may control your relationship with her, but I control both of you. Don't be foolish Draco." He hastened his way up the stairs. Draco slammed his door shut as an act of defiance against his mother. How did she think that she had the power to move their relationship faster? What was she going to do?


	9. Chapter 9

On Friday the 13th, Ginny had one of the worst days of her life. She had made the front page of the Daily Prophet, " _Ginny Weasley: In a serious relationship with Draco Malfoy or just shagging him on the side?_ " A picture was plastered on the front page of every newspaper with Draco leaving the Burrow at 3 in the morning with messy hair. How could this possibly be happening to her, what were people going to think of her?

Several owls had come and loads of media were outside trying to catch a glimpse of Ginny. She wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out. George was the first one to see it, followed by Mr. Weasley who spat orange juice all over his front. Ron had not come back from the shop because he was still angry at Ginny for dating Malfoy. She would likely hear about his reaction once George came back from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

Mrs. Weasley promptly threw the paper in the bin as soon as she saw the title. No one had asked Ginny if any of the information had been true, but she assumed that they would rather not know either way. Ginny ate her breakfast in silence and went back upstairs to her room to pack her bag.

Once packed, Ginny headed back down the stairs and said a feeble goodbye to her parents. "Good luck today Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley said just before her daughter apparated from the home.

Within a flash, Ginny could see the Quidditch pitch that she had come to love for many years. The Holyhead Harpies were playing Puddlemore United today in a rivalry battle. It was sure to be a good match. When she approached the dressing rooms, several reporters were lined up, waiting to discuss the match with her. To her utter annoyance, none of the reporters asked her about the match. Each reporter asked her if the headline had been true. Witch Weekly asked her what Draco Malfoy kissed like and if he was better than Harry Potter. Ginny replied, "No comment." To all questions and headed into the locker room to find her teammates dressing.

"Weasley! We've been wondering where you've been!" Chimed the Keeper.

"Yeah, we figured that if you didn't show up today that it was because you were too busy hanging out with that Malfoy fellow" laughed one of the Beaters.

"Is he as handsome as he is in pictures? Is he amazing in bed?" asked the second Beater.

If the rest of the team hadn't been bigger and stronger than she was, she might have said something, but she remained silent. A fellow Chaser, Gabriella, came toward her. "Don't sweat it Ginny, they're just messing around. They'll be done before the game starts."

"I know they will," Ginny said earnestly, putting on her pads and gesturing toward the door, "But they won't."

Once the girls had calmed down and started talking strategy, Ginny could relax. It was easy to get excited about Quidditch, especially when she was playing against Oliver Wood and Puddlemore United. She wanted to prove herself as worthy of her spot and wanted to win.

They left the locker room together and the other girls huddled around Ginny, creating a barrier for any nosy press members. "Good luck Weasley!" Shouted a familiar voice. "Play well!" said another. Ginny turned around to see Neville and Luna sporting Holyhead Harpies apparel.

"See me after the match!" Ginny called back to them in the sea of people.

With a new spring in her step, Ginny was ready to hit the pitch. She and her team mounted their brooms and propelled up into the air. She had missed playing matches and being on a team.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Draco saw Ginny fly up into the air. The cameras focused on her and her flaming red hair. He had chosen to sit in one of the front rows nearest the Holyhead Harpies' locker room, hoping to catch a glimpse of Ginny when she walked back in. Both teams had taken flight and a loud whistle was blown.

They were off.

Puddlemore took the lead, scoring three goals in the first five minutes of the game. Holyhead struck back with five consecutive goals, three of them coming from Ginny. Ginny dodged several bludgers as she sped by to score another goal.

An hour went on and neither Seeker had caught the snitch. Both had been close, but the snitch had gotten away both times. Ginny was now having to dodge bludgers left and right as if the other team's beaters were targeting her. The Holyhead Beaters tried to regain control of the bludgers, but there was no stopping Puddlemore. The game was 180-120 in the Holyhead Harpies' favor.

Draco's heart fell into his stomach as he watched Ginny slide off of her broom after taking a bludger to the stomach. As she was trying to get back on, a second bludger hit her squarely in the back of the head, which caused her to drop. Ginny was now falling several levels and did not seem to be slowing down. Pulling out his wand, Draco shouted "ARRESTO MOMENTUM!" His focus was solely on Ginny as his wand caused her body to slowly reach the ground. When she had landed, Draco pushed his way out of the crowd of staring eyes and leapt onto the field. He did not care that the game was still going. He did not care if he would later get a fine for running on the field. He did not care about any of the repercussions that he would endure for this. All he cared about was that Ginny was safe.

Draco ran at full speed until he reached Ginny in the middle of the pitch. Healers were also coming onto the field as the match continued. Once he reached Ginny, Draco fell on his knees. Ginny was unconscious and would not wake up no matter how many times he said her name. As the healers approached, they told Draco to move out of the way so that they could examine Ginny. He reluctantly moved, but remained close to the healers and Ginny.

After muttering a few incantations Draco had never heard before, one of the healers said, "Miss Weasley, we're going to transport you to St. Mungo's Hospital. If you can hear me please squeeze my hand." Ginny's fingers did not move.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Draco sat in St. Mungo's reception area for hours waiting to hear about Ginny's progress. There had been suspicions that someone or something had been jinxed to place Ginny in danger. It was all chatter at this point, but no one had been updated on her progress. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had joined him, as well as, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Hermione Granger, and all of the Weasley brothers, including Ron. Draco did not have the stomach to look at anyone, he only kept his head bowed staring at the tops of his shoes.

Another hour passed by of Draco staring at his shoes and ruffling his hair before a healer came by. "Weasley family?" Draco looked up for the first time in hours to see all 7 Weasleys standing up at once. "She is not awake now, but we hope that she will be soon with the incantations and potions that we've given her. It will be a process for her to recover, so no more Quidditch for now." The elderly healer lowered the volume of her voice, "We also suspect Dark Magic was involved because there were small traces on her stomach and the back of her head." Draco felt Ron's deadly glare towards him, but he did not meet it.

"Can we see her now?" Mrs. Weasley asked desperately, "We've been here for hours."

Examining how many people were interested in seeing Ginny, the healer said, "Immediate family only for the moment. I must remind you though, she is still asleep and will need plenty of rest, so no chit-chat." Draco caught a glimpse of Ron's haughty expression before he kissed Hermione and left toward Ginny's room.

Hermione, Draco, Neville, and Luna were left sitting in the entrance of St. Mungo's, waiting to hear more on Ginny's progress. The clock struck a quarter past ten by the time Mrs. Weasley came sniffling out into the waiting room. She was accompanied by Mr. Weasley, whose eyes were red and bloodshot. "Until she wakes up, we won't know much about the damage that's been done." Mr. Weasley muffled in a hoarse voice. "You can see her now, but you might want to wait and come back in the morning. She's a bit roughed up at the moment." His face was grim and his expressions haunted Draco.

Hermione stood up as she saw Ron return back into the room. Draco could tell that he had been crying, but was trying to act as though he hadn't. Luna and Neville got up and walked toward where Ron had come. He made no sudden movements once he met Hermione where she stood. "She'll be alright," he gulped, trying to not any more tears escape. "She's strong."

Ron sank into the chair next to Hermione and held his head in his hands. Hermione tried to comfort him, but even she could tell that it was doing no good. "I yelled at her. That's the last thing she'll remember of me." Ron mumbled into his knit sweater.

Luna and Neville returned within minutes of leaving. Neville had turned as white as a sheet as Luna led him toward the exit. "Neville is no longer feeling well, I'm going to take him home," Luna said airly. As this happened, Bill and Percy returned from Ginny's room. Neither had tear marks, but both of Ginny's brother's eyes were glistening.

"Is it alright if I stay at the Burrow tonight, Mum?" Percy asked, "I don't really want to be alone tonight."

"Of course Percy," Molly reassured her son, bringing him in for a hug.

Draco felt as though he was intruding on an extremely private moment, but he had been the only one who hadn't seen Ginny since her admission. Standing up, Draco felt six red-haired heads turn toward him. He stammered for a moment, but regained his footing. Ron stood up as well, blocking Draco's path. "Ronald Weasley," Mrs. Weasley barked in a hushed tone.

Ron stayed where he was for a moment or two, then slid to the side so Draco could pass. Draco's shoulder met Ron's on his way to Ginny's room, but Draco didn't mind. He would much rather be bumped in the shoulder than kicked in the face.

Walking down the hall, Draco watched the moving portraits stare at him in disbelief as he turned into Ginny's room. George was sitting in the chair next to Ginny's bed with his head bowed onto her bed, his hands covering hers. At the sound of the door opening, George lifted his bloodshot eyes to meet Draco's. He didn't have the heart or the stomach to look at Ginny yet. His eyes stayed glued on George's distressed expression. Moving further into the room, Draco stood behind George to finally see Ginny. The back of her head was bandaged and in spots it had blew through. Her eyes were closed and her face paled. "I was supposed to protect her," George mumbled miserably through his teeth, "this wasn't supposed to happen to her. Not this. Not to her."

Draco saw George hold on tighter to his sister's hand. "I should have done something. I shouldn't have let her play. I'm supposed to protect her."

"I know what you mean," Draco said softly.

"You don't have siblings," George said, turning toward him.

After a moment, George understood what Draco had meant. They shared a still silence for several minutes. George had never thought the day would come when someone outside of his brothers understood the protective nature that they all felt towards Ginny. Turning back to his sister, George squeezed her hand, "We wouldn't have even been able to drag her off of that pitch. She would have found a way to play and nothing we could have done would've made a difference. She's more stubborn than all of us that way."

"I've noticed" Draco gave a stiff laugh, "Won't do anything that she doesn't want to."

Another long patch of silence went over the room as they both secretly wished that she would wake up in that moment. Ginny continued to lay in her bed silently, not moving or making a sound.


	10. Chapter 10

It took Ginny five days to regain consciousness after her disastrous Quiddtich injury. Many were calling it an act of Dark Magic, including the Daily Prophet who now dedicated a half a page daily to keep its readers up to date on Ginny and Draco's relationship. For six consecutive days, the front page of the Daily Prophet had been a picture of Draco, either running towards Ginny during the match or walking into St. Mungo's. "It's as if they have nothing better to talk about." Ginny moaned, glancing at the morning's paper. "I bet they'd burst into my room to snap a picture if they had the change."

"Good thing your brother is an Auror then," Draco offered, seeing the shape of Ron's head through the shut blinds. "He can keep the reporters away."

The room had been darkened so that it would not strain Ginny's eyes. The healers were able to recover most of her speech, but at times she struggled to find the right words. Her eyesight had also gone poor since she tried to read a news article, but could not finish it.

Her room had quickly filled with flowers and well wishes from people around the world. Even Draco's parents sent a small arrangement for her. "Does it bother you?" Ginny asked quietly, "that we can't seem to get a break from them?"

"I try not to think about it," Draco said while he tripped over a pair of sunflowers sent from Puddlemore United.

"So it does bother you."

"Only a little."

"Because…"

"Because they imply that we aren't capable of having true feelings for each other. They think that it's to get revenge or because we want to populate like pygmy puffs."

"Populate like pygmy puffs?" Ginny grinned, trying to cover her laugh, "I don't think I've heard that one before."

"You know what I mean," Draco muttered. He watched as Ginny tilted her bandaged head back onto her pillow and she winced. She gave him a light smile, reassuring him that she was fine, but he was not fooled. "What if you stayed with me?"

Ginny looked at him with concern, "I don't think that's a…"

"Think about it Ginny. I am able to work from home, so I could take care of you. I can bring you soup, chocolate frogs, anything you want!" Draco added earnestly.

"I'm not going to let you help me into the bath." Ginny said flatly, "and your mum won't be helping me in either. Besides, I don't want to put that on you and my mum would never allow that. Not to mention Ron would turn absolutely monstrous if he found out that you might come near me."

"He can get over it," Draco hissed, "It's not like I'm groping you every second, I'm helping you get from room to room. I'm just making sure your head doesn't crack open again. If he can't handle that then he shouldn't be allowed to be called an adult."

Ginny hadn't seen this side of Draco since they had started dating. She had known that he had a dark past, but she had assumed he left it behind. "No one thinks that you have bad intentions," Ginny said reassuringly at him, reaching for his hand. "I just think that after all this happened that my mum will insist on having me at home."

He sat silently for a while, feeling how soft Ginny's hand was. "Then I want to take a shift." He said, "so that your mum can have a break or two for herself. I could watch you during the day or something at your house."

Ginny gave this a bit of thought and smiled. "You'll have to fight mum on that one, but I might wear her out so much that she'll have to let you come."

0o0o0o0o0

Ginny spent another four days at St. Mungo's until she was released. Mrs. Weasley, Draco, Ron, George, and an exceptionally tall Auror had all come to bring her back to the Burrow. Mr. Weasley and the Aurors had arranged for a private car to bring them to the Burrow safely, since Ginny was not well enough to apparate or use the floo network.

Mrs. Weasley was going over the plan while the tall Auror kept watch over the door. "Now, I'll be in the front, politely pushing everyone out of the way. Ron and Draco will be on either side of Ginny and George." Mrs. Weasley saw a note of indigence come over Ron's face, but silenced it quickly. "Mr. umm…. Well, he'll be in the back."

"I don't see why I can't be the one to carry Ginny to the car." Ron muttered under his breath.

"We have gone over this Ronald," Mrs. Weasley snapped. "You and Draco are too tall and would be better used as side guards." Draco had the strong urge to say something to Ron, but he bit his lip to keep from speaking.

"I can walk just fine mum," Ginny piped up.

"I know you can dear, but it is just a safety precaution." Draco understood why Mrs. Weasley had suggested that Ginny be carried. Ginny could not walk as fast as she could before the accident and was much more likely to fall. Mrs. Weasley however did not have the heart to tell her own daughter the truth. It was too much of a risk to take when reporters were outside.

Mrs. Weasley rushed them all outside so that Ginny could change into her muggle clothes. Draco was thankful for George because he was able to keep the attention off of him and tried to reduce the tense encounters. Mrs. Weasley called them all in once Ginny had dressed and told them to assume their positions. Draco let Ron choose which side he wanted first, before residing on Ginny's right side.

She had put sunglasses on as an attempt to block out the light from outside, but it was a dark August night, so Draco and the Weasley boys were confused by this gesture. Mrs. Weasley had also placed a muffling charm on her ears to block out excess noise. Mrs. Weasley led out the door and ensured that her sons followed suit. Ginny was cradled tightly to George, who held her close to him. Her hands had wrapped around his neck similar to how she had wrapped her arms around Draco's. He tried not to think about it, but felt a tingle on his neck.

Walking into the lobby was absolute chaos. Photographers swarmed them as Mrs. Weasley pushed through. Draco heard shouts of questions aimed at Ginny and toward her family.

"How do you feel Ginny?"

"Heard from Potter yet?"

"Have your family got on well with the Malfoy's yet?"

"How will this change your career in Quidditch?"

"Has it been confirmed that Dark Magic was used on the bludgers that attacked you?"

"What will this mean for your intimate life with Draco Malfoy? Will he be on top then?"

Something in Draco had snapped at the last comment. He grabbed the tall wizard's cloak and bent him down to his level. "Leave her alone." Draco hissed in an uncharacteristically low tone, then letting go when he felt more cameras flashing. He returned to George's side as they were almost out the door. Once they reached outside, Molly rushed them into the car and George set Ginny in-between himself and Draco. In the middle of the madness, Ginny had fallen asleep in George's arms. Mrs. Weasley gave a small smile and said, "She must've felt safe with you George."

George's eyes however remained on his baby sister. She slouched in the chair and leaned her head on Draco. He could feel Ron's eyes staring at him from the front seat, but he did not care to look at them. She curled her legs up onto her brother's lap and rest her head in Draco's lap. He could not help, but feel pity toward her. She hadn't done anything to deserve this, but now had a long road to recovery. The rest of the ride from London to Devon was silent, so Ginny could remain asleep. Draco worried about every bump in the road, but none of them woke Ginny. She curled deeper into his lap and put her left hand near his knee.

Once at the Burrow, to his surprise there were no reporters in sight. As if to recognize the look on his face, George mouthed, "enchantments". The Weasleys really had thought of everything. The charm lifted on Ginny's ears as she began to wake up. "Did I miss anything?" She mumbled, not moving from Draco's lap.

There was a stiffened silence as the Weasleys shared in Draco's wish for the reporters to leave her alone. "Not much." Said George briskly.

Getting out of the car, Ginny walked alongside Draco and George with an arm around each. Mrs. Weasley and Ron had gone on inside to prepare a late supper, but not by Ron's own wishes. Ginny had not realized how much energy it had taken for her to get from one place to another. Once inside the Burrow, Ginny saw the staircase and let out a quiet groan.

"Why don't you take her up Draco?" George offered, not looking at Ron, "I'll help out in the kitchen while you bring her up."

Draco caught a glare from Ron, but ignored it. He nodded toward George and took Ginny in his arms. She tucked her head into his chest as he led her up the stairs. "Thankfully it's only one flight to my room," Ginny said jokingly, "if I lived in the attic, you'd be sweating."

"I wouldn't mind" Draco offered, opening the door to her room. He was careful to fit her through the doorway and managed to get through without causing any harm. Ginny's head still remained on his chest and did not leave it until he laid her on her bed. She took off her sunglasses and looked at him with her bright brown eyes.

"Thank you, for all of this. You really didn't have to." Ginny patted lightly on her bed, offering Draco to sit. "I really appreciate it Draco." She leaned forward toward him, but he gently pushed her back into her upright pillow.

"Don't overexert yourself" Draco said easily, "Your mum would have my head."

"Then you lean in to me." Ginny said, a small smile on her lips.

Draco leaned in toward her and placed his lips on hers. He had forgotten how wonderful it had felt to be so close to her. He wanted nothing more than to take her on her bed, but he knew it wouldn't be right. Ginny pulled his body closer into hers and let out a small breath of air. His urges came back, but he fought them off violently in his head. Taking her hand and stroking it through his hair made Draco tingle from his toes to the top of his head. The fight continued on in his mind, but knew that there was no way he was going to do that with Ginny tonight. She was too weak and too fragile for any activity like that.

Ginny stopped and gently pushed Draco's chest back. He could feel his heart racing as he stared at Ginny and could not help himself. He felt Ginny's hand on his heart and knew that she could feel his heart racing too. "We can't." She breathed heavily, not looking into his eyes.

"I know" he exhaled, sitting upright.

They sat in a calm silence. Both breathed heavily, each one watching the other. Ginny reached over to smooth Draco's hair and rest her hand on his. It was another minute before either one of them spoke. "If you weren't… would we have…?"

"Possibly" Ginny said quietly, "but it wouldn't have been right."

They heard footsteps coming up the steps and Ginny threw her hand off of Draco's and set it to her side. Barging in with a tray of food was Ron, followed by Mrs. Weasley and George. "Your father should be home soon dear, but we thought we'd all have dinner up here tonight."

Finishing off their plates, Molly cleared them all and rushed them downstairs. She came back up a moment later saying, "boys, Ginny has had a long day and needs her rest. Why don't you all help me set up the rest of the house?"

George, Ron, and Draco all left Ginny's room, each exchanging a different glance with her. Ron's was a subdued goodnight, while George gave her a wink, Draco was last out the door and wished her a good night's sleep. Walking down the stairs, Draco saw Mrs. Weasley's dishes washing themselves while she stared at her family clock. Mrs. Weasley had made conversation that Mr. Weasley had received a promotion and had hoped that meant he could spend more time with his family.

"You boys clean up the living room while I go bring Ginny a warm tea." Mrs. Weasley rushed up the stairs with a teapot and a cup flying behind her outstretched wand.

"Does she always make tea when someone's injured?" Draco asked, remembering when he had been injured Mrs. Weasley had insisted on making him tea.

"It's more whenever we're feeling down or sick," George offered, "After Fred died she wouldn't stop making tea so much that Dad had to hide the kettle." He had made the words seem conversational, but Draco could tell it was still a sore subject on George's heart. George laughed, and Draco joined in until he saw a moody expression from Ron then stopped.

Mr. Weasley's face on the clock turned from "work" to "travelling". Within an instant, Mr. Weasley's real face popped through the front door. "Hello family!" he exclaimed, "Nice to see you Mr. Malfoy!" His unusually cheery expression took Draco off-guard. Mrs. Weasley hurried down the stairs and muttered, "Arthur, Ginny is asleep."

Mr. Weasley closed his mouth and set down his briefcase. "As should all of you, it's nearly midnight." He said in hushed tones.

"The boys were helping me clear out the living room for Ginny so she isn't likely to trip on anything." Mrs. Weasley announced, displaying the little work the boys had done so far.

"They can do that in the morning. It's been a rough day for all of us Molly." Draco started looking for his coat when Mr. Weasley said, "Draco, you can sleep in Bill and Charlie's old room on the third floor."

"Thank you Mr. Weasley, but-"

"Nonsense, you'll stay here for the night. It is much too dangerous for you to be going home alone at this time of night." Mr. Weasley said sternly, catching Ron's glare.

"Off to bed, all of you." Ushered Mrs. Weasley, almost shoving them up the stairs.

Draco climbed up the stairs and noticed that George got off on the second landing, Draco found the room he was supposed to be in on the third floor, while Ron pushed his way past going up the stairs even further. He opened the door to find old Quidditch uniforms and old posters that had to be at least 10 years old. Finally realizing how exhausted he was, Draco took off his shoes and crawled into the bed nearest him.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Draco awoke to several loud noises coming from above and below his room. He heard a thud from above and an owl screeching downstairs. Never in his life had he been in a house with more than three people, so it was an adjustment staying at the Burrow. Draco heard footsteps running down the stairs hearing Ron shout, "PIG!"

Not realizing that the Weasleys also owned a pig, he sat up on the edge of the bed. A light tapping came on his window as he saw an owl with the Daily Prophet. He opened the window and gave the owl a coin. The owl flew away and soared in the air. Draco felt his stomach churn as he saw the front page. It was a picture of him from last night grabbing the reporter's shirt. "Slick git" he mumbled, his eyes darting toward the headline. _"Leave her alone!" Draco Malfoy attacks reporter to defend his lover Ginny Weasley's honour as they leave St. Mungo's Hospital._ "Oh Merlin" Draco spoke aloud, flipping to find the rest of the story.

 _It has now been confirmed that Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley are officially together. He was seen with her family as they took her home after a terrible Quidditch accident on Friday the 13_ _th_ _. When provoked, Malfoy reacted physically by taking a reporter by the shirt and snarling in his face to "Leave her alone". None of the Weasleys have commented about the relationship between Ginny and Malfoy, but Luna Lovegood gave a comment last Saturday. "I really think she enjoys him. She doesn't stop smiling when she talks about him." Lovegood did not comment on the state of Miss Weasley's health, but she is sure to not finish the rest of the season with the Holyhead Harpies this year. She was carried out of the hospital by her brother George Weasley, who is still recovering from the turmoil of his twin brother Fred's death during the Battle of Hogwarts. Mr. Weasley was approached at work several times, but would not answer any questions regarding his daughter or Mr. Malfoy. Narcissa Malfoy gave a comment this Thursday saying that she is delighted that Draco and Ginevra are together. Lucius stood stoically by her side and said nothing. "We would love to welcome Ginevra into our family if Draco chose to propose to her. She's a lovely young witch. Very bright, very promising future."_

Draco slammed the paper down and refused to read the rest of it. When he returned home to the manor, he would have a long word with his mother.


	11. Chapter 11

**_Please Review_**

It had been eight months since Ginny's injury and it had been confirmed by the ministry that the bludgers had been tampered with. There had not been any traces of who would have placed the dark magic. Ginny was almost fully healed at this time, but was still motion sensitive at times. Draco had spent an increasing amount of time at the Weasley's to help out Mrs. Weasley when her sons and husbands had gone back to work. Draco now only visited since Ginny was able to do most things on her own now.

The Daily Prophet had retreated somewhat from interfering with their lives. After Draco had a word with the editor of the paper, the number of article had decreased dramatically. Now it was only once or twice every other week that Draco would see his name in the paper. After spending so much time with the Weasleys, Draco's relationship with his parents began to strain. He and his mother got into a shouting match after an article came out about what Narcissa thought her son was up to, saying he had gone ring shopping. Draco was able to hide this particular article from Ginny, but wanted to be assured that it would not happen again.

It had been said that Harry Potter was seen near St. Cathopole, but it had not been confirmed by any other sources. Ron scoffed this off by saying, "If Harry would've been here, he would've come to see me." He had still not gotten over the fact that his best friend had left without saying anything to him or Hermione. He felt betrayed after going with him to find and destroy horcruxes.

Draco was in his room when he heard a loud crack from outside. Ginny sat wobbly on Draco's front lawn. He climbed down the stairs as fast as he could and ran out the door. Getting closer to Ginny, he saw her face was paler than usual and her eyes were glistening. "Ginny, are you alright?"

She looked as though she would yell or vomit, but he couldn't tell which. She held up a finger as if to say, "Give me a minute."

"Ginny, I thought the healers told you that you shouldn't apparate-"

"Ron told me about the article you were hiding from me. That your mother said you had been ring shopping." Draco still could not tell her expression, "Is it true? Have you been ring shopping?"

"No," said Draco cautiously, not sure what the right answer would be. "I had only gone into that store to buy your birthday present last year and my mother mistook it the wrong way."

Ginny's face began to perk up, "Good." Draco must have had a weird expression on her face to elicit the response, "Not that I wouldn't want to," Ginny added hastily, "Or not that I want to right now." Her exasperated face fell. "I just don't think that we've been together long enough and we're too young."

"All of our parents married young," Draco offered, but caught Ginny's expression and added, "but that was different, because of the war and such…" Draco felt as if he couldn't get enough air. "So yes, in short. I did not go ring shopping. Both of our parents married young. And I'm an idiot."

A smile came across her face and she started laughing. He gave a small chuckle as he tried to figure out what Ginny was laughing at. "You're not an idiot." Ginny said in the middle of her laugh, "I am, for thinking that any of it was true. Of course you wouldn't have gone ring shopping since we haven't even said I love you yet. How could I have been so stupid?"

Draco felt an unease in his stomach that reminded him of how he felt when he was picked on in grade school. "Yeah, how silly." Draco mumbled. Ginny stood up and he followed suit. "We'd better get in, it's about to rain."

"Is Draco Malfoy afraid of getting a little wet?" Ginny teased, playfully taking Draco's wand.

"It's not that I'm afraid." Draco scoffed, pointing his nose further into the air.

"Then, let's dance!" Before Draco could object, he felt a large tug on his sleeve as Ginny pulled him toward her. 1, 2, 3, and suddenly, they were waltzing. Ginny lead as Draco tried his hardest not to step on her toes or turn too quickly. Humming to a song he had never heard, Ginny twirled herself around on Draco's hand. When she came back into their embrace Draco saw that her smile had faded slightly.

He had recognized that face as Ginny doing too much for her body to handle. Her brain was trying to put itself right. At this time, Draco just swayed side to side with her. In that moment, the rain started to drip onto their shoulders. Ginny's smile perked up again as she looked at him, "I knew you could dance." Ginny allowed Draco to take the lead and he twirled her gently around the yard. The rain poured harder now as they danced slowly, his hand in hers while his other hand lay on her waist.

"You didn't think I could dance? Had you not seen me at the Yule Ball?" Draco laughed.

"I was too busy rubbing my feet. Neville's a terrible dancer." Ginny grinned, looking at Draco's soaked shirt. "I had bruises on the tops of my feet for weeks."

He loved her smile. It lit up any room. "Well I promise not to step on your feet."

"Thank you" Ginny giggled.

They were now soaked to the bone and had slowed almost to a halt. "Who knew that being with a Weasley could be so much fun?" Draco teased, but Ginny waved him off.

"I bet you wish you could be a Weasley. It's much more fun." Ginny said, now coming to a complete stop.

"I could be if I went ring shopping" Draco teased again, but this time Ginny did not wave him off.

Her face looked calm, but quiet. The fact that she hadn't said anything made Draco highly uneasy. She took a moment before saying, "Draco Weasley? I like you much better as a Malfoy. It sounds better."

"As you wish Miss Weasley," Draco smiled, looking down at her with a grin.

Without thinking about it, Draco wrapped his arms tightly around her and leaned in for a kiss. The rain drops fell on them as they held on tighter to each other. Once the parted, Draco felt a raindrop fall on his lip. Ginny's chest moved up and down as she tried to catch her breath. Without another word, Draco led Ginny into Malfoy Manor and closed the door.

Once he had gotten Ginny back to the Burrow safely, he arrived back at Malfoy Manor with a quiet "pop". In the sitting room, his mother and father stood, apparently waiting for him to return. "How is Ginevra?" Narcissa asked coolly.

This took Draco aback because he had not heard his mother ask about Ginny in quite some time. "What do you want mother?"

"Do not speak to your mother like that Draco" Lucius hissed.

Narcissa's smile twisted. "I'm merely asking about the well-being of your girlfriend, am I not allowed to do that Draco?"

"Not without a benefit to you, no." Draco spat back.

"Alright Draco, if that's the way that you want to play this, then fine, I will keep it short. When can I expect grandchildren?" Narcissa asked smoothly.

"Have you gone mad?" Draco asked incredulously, looking from one parent to the other. "Three years ago you _loathed_ the Weasleys, telling me that they had dirty blood. Now you want to know when you can expect grandchildren?"

"Yes." Narcissa said calmly, setting herself down in a chair.

"I'm only 19." Draco said indignantly. "And Ginny's only 18. You can't expect us-"

"You're about to be 20 years old." Narcissa snarled coldly. "I had you when I was 25 and your father and I were married long before then."

"Sorry to disappoint, but I don't want to be like either of you." Draco hissed. His mother's and father's facial expressions had turned from irritated to venomous.

"Don't underestimate me Draco, you have tested my patience too many times." Her wand was now drawn as was Draco's.

"If you kill me then you won't have grandchildren." His voice shook as much as his wand did at his mother.

"Of all things Draco I would never kill you," she grimaced, "as for Ginevra though, I can't ensure her safety. You have grown too fond of her to not move forward with our plan. You've gone soft. You've forgotten why we did this in the first place."

"If anything happened to Ginny, then our entire social life would be over. Everyone loves her and is waiting for me to screw things up. I'm sure Potter is just lurking around the corner waiting for me to slip up. So if you so much as lay a finger on her you won't only lose your precious social calendar, but you can say goodbye to me too." Draco huffed and was staring at his mother's evil smile etched on her face.

"I wouldn't worry about Potter showing up. He's a bit preoccupied at the moment. Really a shame he won't be able to make it to the wedding." Narcissa's edges of her mouth pointed up.

"How do you know what Potter is doing?"

"Go to sleep Draco, I can see that talking to you will not do me any good. I will take matters into my own hands once again."

His body turned stiff, "What do you mean, _once again?_ "

"Let's just say that I'm part of the reason that Ginny Weasley is so fond of you." Narcissa relaxed further into the back of her chair.

"What, you've been giving her a love potion all these months?" Draco's voice rang louder than he expected.

"No, but any competition that you might have had is now gone and you were able to take care of her in her time of need. Allowing you to get closer to her and her family. All because of me." Draco could not believe what he had been hearing. His mother had planned this before she had even told Draco what she wanted him to do. She made Potter disappear and jinxed the bludgers with Dark Magic.

In seconds, Draco felt as if he was being sucked up in a small tube and felt his feet fall firmly on a tile floor. The hallways were dimly lit as he heard his feet pat quickly on the floor. His heart raced as fast as his feet as he sped toward the elevators. He pressed for level two and shot off in the elevator. Before it fully opened, Draco pushed through the elevator doors and ran towards Mr. Weasley's office. To his good fortune, Mr. Weasley was still in his office with a small witch who looked familiar. Mr. Weasley's polite expression faded as he saw Draco's.

"Ginny is in trouble. In order to keep her out of harm we need to bring her to a safe house I purchased a few months ago. This is urgent Mr. Weasley. I'm afraid she may die if we don't move her." Draco breathed heavily.

"How do you-"

"There's no time Mr. Weasley, I'll explain it to you later." Draco rasped, tugging on his cloak and bringing him towards the elevators. Once out of the elevators, they ran toward the fireplaces and ran into the flames.

They met at the Burrow and ran into the house. Ginny was eating supper at the table while Mrs. Weasley was listening to a Weird Sisters track. "Ginny, you need to pack your things and we need to leave. This is urgent."

Ginny's face fell as she stared from Draco to her father. "I don't understand."

"I don't have time to explain now, but I have to take you so that we can keep you safe. I purchased a safe house a few months ago-"

"You bought a house without telling me?-"

"Focus Ginny" Draco almost shouted anxiously. "We need to get you out of here. We need to get you out now before they come for you."

"Who?"

"Go!" Draco shouted, feeling as though his nerves would get the best of him. Ginny got out of her chair and ran upstairs. Mrs. Weasley pleaded Draco for more information, but all he could say was, "Mrs. Weasley, it is best if you don't know where we go. I've already said too much. I will tell you more when I can, but right now it is impertinent that Ginny goes somewhere safe."

"I don't understand why my house isn't safe," Mrs. Weasley said, her face getting red.

"It is a well-known location and it would be the first place that they would look for Ginny. It is best if my parents don't know where she is." In his exhaustion, Draco had let it slip that his parents were the cause of this uprooting.

"Your parents?!" Mrs. Weasley looked scandalized.

"Mr. Weasley, tell the ministry that my parents are now on the run and they know where Harry Potter is. Tell them that they were the ones who jinxed the bludgers to attack Ginny the afternoon of the Puddlemore match." Draco didn't know whether it was the shock or the sternness in his voice, but Mr. Weasley only nodded his head.

Ginny clamored down the stairs with a trunk and Arnold sleeping soundly in his cage. "We have to run." Draco said, taking Arnold's cage and swiftly turning around to take Ginny's other hand. She said quick goodbyes to her parents and set off out onto the lawn with Draco. They ran past the gate before apparating away.

After they got inside, Ginny caught her breath and asked, "so, why am I in mortal peril?"

Draco didn't have the heart to tell her the full story tonight, so he gave back Arnold in his cage and said, "Your room is upstairs. Second bedroom on the right."

"Draco Malfoy you tell me right now as to why I was taken away from my family and everything I have known." Her voice was shaking as she shook with anger. "You tell me why I am here right now or I will leave this instant."

"The Daily Prophet and Aurors were right. The same people who jinxed those bludgers were the same people who made Harry Potter disappear. I didn't want that to happen to you, so I panicked." Draco saw her expression change slightly, but now he noticed tears form in her eyes.

"So we left my entire family in danger? If they were coming after me, wouldn't they just as likely take one of my family members?" Tears were now slowly escaping her eyes. Draco had never seen Ginny like this. Her face looked angry, but her eyes could not contain her sadness.

"I've warned your father and he will take the correct precautions. It isn't likely that they would take one of your family members now that you're safe. They can't get you now." Draco reassured her. This did not comfort Ginny as she slid down an unfamiliar wall, collapsing into a puddle.

Draco had liked Ginny because she was rarely weepy. She was strong, as Malfoys are raised and taught to be. She was not weak and did not easily crack under pressure. He had never comforted someone who was so distraught before. Slipping down next to her, he put one arm around her should and the other holding her far side. He had never heard someone cry so hard before and so excessively. "W-what happens if they go to the shop and harm George and Ron? What if they get P-Percy at home? What if they attack Shell Cottage and take Victoire?!"

"Your father would not let that happen. Right now, I would assume that they are on the run because they know that someone tipped off the ministry. Kingsley will assure that your family is kept safe and that nothing happens to them. You are my priority." Draco said, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

Ginny tried to wipe off the tears on her cheeks, but fresh tears rolled down her face. "I don't understand, why would anyone care about me? I d-didn't do anything. Why would they want to hurt me and take Harry?" She asked, still mopping the tears off her face.

"I'm not certain," said Draco, unwilling to admit the entire truth to Ginny in that moment.

The streams of Ginny's tears slowed as she lifted her head up. "I can't believe it. I just can't believe it. Harry had seemed-" Ginny felt Draco stiffen at the mention of Harry's name again. They sat in the silence for what seemed like hours, with Harry's name floating over Draco's head. What would Ginny think about him after she knew that this had all been a plan set up by his mother to win her over? Would she stay with him? Or once Potter returned would she go back to him and hate Draco forever?

His thoughts were disrupted by a loud _CRACK_. Ginny and Draco looked at each other in alarm when they heard footsteps coming toward them down the hallway. As the footsteps drew nearer, Draco saw a tall shadow coming toward them. Now in the light, Draco saw a three foot house-elf staring at him with beady eyes. "Hello Mr. Draco!"

Draco and Ginny let out a sigh of relief as the house-elf greeted them. "Pleased to finally meet you Miss Weasley."

"Kip, where had you been? I thought I had asked you to get Miss Weasley's room ready?" Kip looked proudly at Draco.

"Kip had already finished with the bedroom sir. So Kip went to get groceries for Mr. Draco and Miss Ginny. I have plenty of food to make, so I can make whatever you'd like." Kip beamed with joy as she saw Ginny's compassionate expression.

"I wouldn't mind soup if you had some. I didn't finish mine. Anything for you Draco?" Ginny knew that Hermione would not approve, but she didn't mind not cooking for a change.

"Same for me Kip." In a flash, the house-elf was gone.

They ate dinner in a peaceful silence as Ginny continued to survey the house. It was smaller than the Manor and the Burrow, but she didn't mind. The kitchen was large and had shelves full of food to eat.

Heading up to bed, Draco brought Ginny's trunk up to the second bedroom on the right and let Arnold out of his cage. Ginny followed him and looked around the room. It was a nice room, but it did not feel like home. She felt uneasy and wanted to go home. "I'll leave you then, goodnight Ginny."

He closed the door and headed to his bedroom. He took off his trousers, socks, and shirt then climbed into bed. The safe house ended up being a good investment after Ginny's bludger attacks, he thought to himself. It wasn't pleasure that he felt, but he felt some sense of achievement knowing that he had done a smart thing.

A quiet knock came on his door. Covering himself up with his blankets, the door opened and Ginny appeared in his doorway. "I won't be able to sleep. Not in there. I don't feel safe." She said, closing the door and coming towards Draco.

Beginning to think of alternative solutions, Draco was stunned to see Ginny crawl into his bed. "I'm not fully clothed." Draco said defensively, pulling the sheets up more.

"Are you clothed at all?"

"A little yeah."

"Then we're fine." Ginny said dismissively and continued to get closer to Draco. She slid herself down onto the pillow closest to her and waited for Draco to slide down next to her. Draco slipped down into his pillow and glanced over at Ginny, whose eyes were still red from her previous tears.

Moving closer again, Ginny wrapped her arm around Draco's waist and placed her head on his shoulder. Ginny's body was warm on Draco's skin. It was almost as if she radiated heat. After everything that had gone on today, this might have been Draco's favorite moment. He didn't want to think about tomorrow, he only wanted to think about how happy he was right now.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Please review**_

On June 5th, Draco was rudely awoken by pans clattering together in the kitchen. He wondered if Ginny had also woken up to Kip's loud noises, but when he opened his eyes she was not next to him. "Ginny?" He shouted louder than he expected.

Kip apparated into the room. She looked nervous at Draco, "Mr. Draco, sir. Miss Ginny asks that you not come downstairs for at least another half hour." Kip sighed, "She's making a mess of the kitchen sir. Kip asked if she could help, but Miss Ginny is determined to do it on her own."

"Do what?" Asked Draco.

"Miss Ginny told me not to say. It is a surprise sir." Without another word, Kip disapparated back into the kitchen to keep a watchful eye on Ginny.

Draco tried to lay back down again, but he couldn't figure out why Ginny would be surprising him. It wasn't their anniversary. By the time he had given up on figuring it out, Ginny had come up with a tray full of breakfast. "Happy Birthday!" she shouted excitedly. How could Draco have forgotten his own birthday? He hadn't even remembered telling Ginny when his birthday was.

Smelling the tray that Ginny held in her hands, he started to be excited about breakfast. "Thanks Ginny," he said eagerly, looking at the plate full of food.

"I hope you don't mind. I cooked it all from scratch. Took me longer, so the eggs may have gone cold, but that's the way my family always does it." She set the tray in front of him and enthusiastically looked for his delight. To Ginny's great pleasure, Draco nodded and gave a thumbs up to the food he tasted.

Ginny ran back downstairs to inevitably clean up the kitchen. She returned with a smile on her face, "So, birthday boy, what would you like to do today?"

He appreciated Ginny's optimism in light of the recent events, especially since they both knew that they had to stay within the confines of the house. "I don't know, what do you-"

"Today isn't my birthday" Ginny said happily, "It's yours, so whatever you choose for us to do, we're going to do it. Let's celebrate!"

After deciding that they would play games, Ginny and Draco found every board game they could find in the house and decided to play it. Since they are both extremely competitive, they would get too into the games and one would flip the board over if they lost. This then began a running gag between the two and made them both go into fits of laughter. They played well into the night and brought out the firewhiskey to make the bets more interesting. "If I win, you have to take a sip and if you win, I have to take a sip."

This turned into a duel between the two at who could tolerate their alcohol better. Genetically, Ginny was at a disadvantage, but she began winning more games which caused Draco to drink more. Inevitably, they both were pissed by the end of the night. They walked up the stairs together and went into their separate bedrooms to change. Ginny came back into Draco's room just as he was clumsily getting into bed.

Ginny gracelessly got into bed and set her head on the pillow next to Draco. They both sat in the silence as they stared up at the ceiling. First to break the silence was Ginny, "I think I'm falling in love with you."

Draco couldn't breathe for a moment. He had thought he had misheard Ginny, thinking that she had misplaced a glove with him. Once he looked to Ginny for confirmation that he heard what she had said correctly, he said, "I think I'm falling in love with you too." Ginny reached for his hand and held it tightly. She gave him a glimmering smile and turned over to fall asleep. Draco turned on his left side and conformed his body to Ginny's. He felt her body relax and with that he fell asleep, knowing that Ginny was feeling the same way he was.

 _Author's note: Extremely short chapter I know and the next two won't be much longer, but hopefully the one after is a bit more like the regular sized chapters._


	13. Chapter 13

_**Please review**_

Another two months had passed since Ginny and Draco had left their homes and it was starting to wear on both of them. Trying desperately to think of new hobbies, Ginny invented several cleaning games, but Kip the house-elf found these discouraging since that had always been her role in the household. Ginny then moved onto games that she used to play with her brothers on rainy days. Thinking about her brothers only made her depressed, so she decided to start reading. It had always been a great hobby of Hermione's and she felt as though if Hermione enjoyed it that she might enjoy it too. This came with a little success, but the selection of books had been limited.

Ginny and Draco had not discussed love any further than they had on the night of Draco's birthday. Several times Ginny had tried to bring up the topic of why they had to go into hiding, but every time Draco dismissed it and said something about her protection. This caused an uneasy tension between them that Draco knew he had to address. He wasn't sure when the best time would be, but he understood that the longer he waited, the more trouble it would cause for him and Ginny.

He decided to bring up the subject one night as Kip made supper. "So, I know that you've been wondering why you're here." Ginny looked up from her tea, looking at Draco intensely. "To be honest, I've been afraid to tell you for weeks because of how you might react." Ginny leaned closer in towards Draco as if to be on guard. "The people behind the bludgers and Harry's disappearance were my parents."

Draco winced, expecting a hit or a slap, but when he turned he only saw Ginny's mouth agape. "Your… _parents?_ "

"Regrettably so," Draco said, tossing his hair nervously as Ginny stared at him with her mouth open. "You see, they were under the impression that in order for me to have you-"

"To have me?" Ginny repeated, staring at him looking aghast, "like I'm some kind of prize or something? Like I'm an object that cannot think or feel for itself?"

"That's not what I-" his sentence was cut off by a loud gasp.

"You're telling me that they _blackmailed_ Harry into disappearing and placed Dark Magic on the bludgers that left me injured for _months_?" She covered her mouth and then slammed her hand on the table, "Harry disappeared before we ever spoke. Was this all an elaborate plan to get you to love me?!" Ginny was standing up now, filled with rage and anger. "How could you _do_ this Draco? You've known _all along_ about your parents interfering with other people's lives and didn't bother to mention it to me? Are you completely mad?!"

Draco attempted to defend himself, "I didn't know about Harry or the bludger until two months ago-"

"How long has it been a plan to get me to fall in love with you?" Ginny snarled, fuming with anger like Draco had never seen it.

"That wasn't the plan really. The plan was-"

Ginny put a finger up to silence Draco, "I don't even want to hear what your plan was. It will only make me more upset than I already am. Who do you think you are messing around with people's lives like this? Is the only reason I got on the team was because you wanted to shag me?" Her dripped with disgust.

"That was because you had pure talent." Draco said, standing up for the first time. "I only mentioned it to Slughorn who mentioned it to Gwenog. That was purely for your benefit and not mine."

"What about the meadow, my birthday, and helping out at the Burrow, was that all part of your twisted plan too?!" Ginny was now screaming, she had lost control and could not contain her anger. "I'm locked up here with you so that I can fall more in love with you so that you can have pure-blood grandchildren for your sick parents?!"

Draco stopped and looked at her with still eyes, "you said fall in love with me more… does that mean that you're in love with me?"

Ginny was unmoving for several seconds. Draco wondered if she had stopped breathing, but she rounded on him again, "I might have been, but I don't know if I can love a man that's been lying to me for over a year!" Her body was now shaking, Ginny now spoke in an uncharacteristically low tone, "I can't believe that I was so stupid to think that you loved me."

"Ginny, I do love-"

"Don't you dare tell me you love me," she shrieked, tears now forming in her eyes. "You have no right to tell me that you love me. You love _you_. That's who you love. Our whole relationship is a lie, don't you see that? I loved you and all you loved was yourself because that's all you can do. You're a Malfoy and you can't care about anyone else but yourself-"

"If I didn't care about you, why would I be telling you all of this?!" Draco began to yell at an equal volume to Ginny, "Don't you think that I was scared that you would react like this? Sure, my intentions at first were not genuine, but don't you dare say that I can only love myself. I have fallen madly in love- look at me!" Draco was now shouting at an extremely high level to force Ginny to turn around to look at him, tears now streaming down her face. "I have fallen madly in love with you over the past year and my worst fear has now become my reality. My friends disowned me, my parents are ruining my life, and now you have become so irrevocably cross with me that I don't think that we can recover from this."

Ginny's body still shook, but it had turned from anger to anguish. "How can I ever believe you again?" She asked quietly, staring at his eyes.

Draco had little answer for this, he tried to think of something, but had no retort. Seeing that he had no answer, Ginny turned and ran toward the staircase, slamming her door shut behind her. Draco kicked his chair over and felt a throbbing sensation in his foot that could not match the pain in his heart. Kip stood frightened near the stove with a frying pan as her shield.

Climbing up the steps, Draco could hear loud ruffling noises coming from the guest bedroom. Upon opening the door, he saw Ginny ripping through her clothes and putting them in her trunk. Knowing what she was about to do, Draco grabbed her around her waist. "Get off of me!" She yelled, kicking Draco in the stomach. "Malfoy, get off!"

"Listen to me, I know that you think I am the biggest prat right now, but if you leave you will be in grave danger." Draco said, trying to find the words to make her stay.

"Not having a vision are you? Seeing into the beyond?" Ginny said with distain.

"Ginny, I wouldn't put you in danger. I'm keeping you safe-"

Ginny let out a laugh, "This is probably just part of your parent's plan for me to fall in love with you, isn't it? To trap me up in here to make me go mad? Eliminating all other options for me until I choose you?"

Draco twisted Ginny around and held her tightly around the arms. "Ginny, I wouldn't lie to you about this. Send a patronus to your parents if you must, but please stay until you get word that things are okay."

Setting free her arm, Ginny pulled out her wand and said firmly, "Expecto Patronum". Only wisps of silver flew from her wand. She tried five more times, but was unable to conjure more than a few wisps of silver. Within moments, Draco had an idea. "Kip!" He shouted loudly. With a _crack_ Kip was standing before him standing uneasily at what her master might command her to do. "Kip, I want you to go to the Burrow where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley live. I want you to ask them to verify that my parents are responsible for Harry Potter's disappearance and the bludgers that attacked Ginny. I also want you to find me a small vial of Veritaserum. Go now."

In a flash, Kip was gone, Ginny turned around toward Draco and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Proving to you that I'm telling the truth about all of this. All of it." The words seemed to stain his mouth,

They remained in the guest room silently as Kip went to find Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the Veritaserum. It was a half hour before Kip arrived back with information and a small green vial. "What did you hear Kip?"

"Kip spoke to Mr. Weasley who said that the Ministry of Magic was currently doing an investigation on Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. They disappeared the same night you did. Mr. Weasley said that they suspect that Mr. Harry Potter is in a hiding place that is guarded by magical enchantments. The Auror Mr. Weasley also spoke and said that he suspected of a few places, but was not having much luck. Mrs. Weasley asked about Miss Weasley and Kip told her that Miss Weasley was usually in high spirits and missed her family. Another Mr. Weasley gave me this bottle from the Ministry's storage." Kip held out the green bottle, which Draco took.

"Thank you, Kip. You have made me very proud." Kip blushed and turned out of the room, closing the door on Ginny and Draco.

Draco held out the bottle for Ginny to examine and placed four drops on his tongue. Ginny looked at him bewildered for a second, then opened her mouth to speak. "What was the original plan that your mother set you up to?"

"She wanted me to marry you so that she could have a higher social standing. She thought that you would be suitable because you're a pure-blood and you're well liked." Draco said, his eyes locked on Ginny.

"What changed in your mother's plan?"

"She wants grandchildren badly. She asked me many times if we had been intimate, but every time I told her I said it was none of her business, which I still stand by. Don't get me wrong, if we both wanted to be intimate I would want to do that, but I don't want to pressure you into anything you don't want to do."

"Can you think of any place that they might be hiding Harry?" Her voice cracked slightly.

"No, they didn't tell me about Potter until the night that we left. They wouldn't have told me anyway because they knew that my loyalty was to you." He offered again, not even thinking about the words he was speaking.

"Did you actually have feelings for me?"

"I love you Ginny. I made it pretty clear several times. I love you because I can open up to you more than I could to anyone in my entire life. My parents showed me little sympathy growing up and I hadn't been extremely close to any of my friends at Hogwarts."

"When did you know you loved me?"

"I sensed it a little before, but never as strongly as when I saw you falling during your match. I felt as if my entire world was crashing down. I wouldn't have been able to live with myself knowing that you wouldn't be in this world anymore. I knew then that it couldn't be anything else other than love." Draco said plainly, looking only at Ginny's face.

Her face seemed to soften slightly before asking, "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"I was so nervous that you were going to hate me or think that I didn't love you that it almost paralyzed me from telling you. My worst nightmare was unfolding down in the kitchen and I knew that I had to do something to get you to at least begin trusting me again." His eyes now pleading with hers to give him some sign that everything would be okay.

Ginny fell softly onto the bed and whispered, "After all of this, why do you still love me?"

"Because Ginny," Draco said earnestly, moving toward her and taking her hands in his. Kneeling on both knees he said, "You can make me speak my mind unlike anyone else can. It's hard for me to open up, but with you it's easy. I can't describe it any other way than that. And for the other obvious reasons anyone might like you: you're funny, smart, driven, beautiful, charismatic, friendly-"

"I think I need time." Ginny said, quietly cutting him off. "To process all of this. It's a bit overwhelming right now."

Draco sat on his feet as he looked up at Ginny. Her eyes refused to meet his. Deciding that it was best not to say anything further, Draco got up and quietly went out the door. He shut the guest bedroom and his bedroom door without much sound and flopped onto his bed. He wanted nothing more than for Ginny to come in his room and fall asleep in his arms. It was highly improbable, but Draco still wished it. Draco stayed up until the next morning, wondering what Ginny would decide.


	14. Chapter 14

_**Please review**_

Ginny refused to speak to Draco for five days. She rarely left her bedroom and when she did it would only be to use the water closet or to grab something to eat. Kip had started to bring Ginny her meals, but Draco ordered her not to do that anymore in the hope that Ginny would be forced to speak to him.

August 11th had proved to be as infuriating at the days prior. Ginny was refusing to acknowledge Draco's presence even when he was steps away from her. He tried making conversation, but Ginny's eyes did not meet his. "For Merlin's sake Ginny, what is it going to take for you to talk to me again? It's not like I haven't proven my love for you or anything." The words had come out much nastier than he had intended.

Ginny continued ignoring him.

Draco could now feel the anger bubbling inside of him. "You're taking this too critically you know. Acting as if you have every right to get angry with me. There are plenty of things that your brothers have done that I have kept my mouth shut about. Ron is by far the worst of your brothers. I understand the nature of being protective, but he takes it to an extreme level where it's almost like you're not allowed to be human. He's controlling really."

Ginny turned her back to Draco, which fired him up more. "And I'm glad that Potter is gone. He tortured me at Hogwarts. Tried to kill me in our sixth year. Using spells from a book that had scribblings on it-"

" _He saved your life!_ " Ginny shouted, turning around. " _Twice!_ "

Draco would rather hear Ginny yell at him than to have her ignoring him. "Once in the room of requirement and then another time when he was under his invisibility cloak. You are indebted to him Malfoy, so don't you dare say that you're glad he's gone. Without him, you would be dead."

"I owe nothing to Potter." Draco said, now standing up to make himself seem bigger. "I didn't sell him out to Bellatrix and my mum said that he was dead, so I owe him NOTHING." His fist came down hard on the table and made the utensils jump.

"Your parents placed him into hiding so that you could make a move on me!" Ginny shouted, now standing up to meet Draco's eyes. "They are the reason that he disappeared. You owe it to him to fix this."

"I didn't ask for them to make Potter disappear! He's been gone for over a year, it's not like he has family left-"

"He has a godson that needs him." Ginny snapped, "Your aunt Andromeda is taking care of him now, but what will happen when she dies? He will be without a family, unless Uncle Draco is going to swoop in and take care of the child that he's never known. Harry has been gone for over a year and only Godric knows what's happened to him. Harry also has plenty of friends that love him and can't bear to think about the possibility that he might be dead."

"So that's what this silence has been all about? Saint Potter." Draco spat, "Didn't seem too concerned about him when we're snogging."

"You shut your mouth," Ginny retorted, reaching for her wand in her pocket. Suddenly, a light went off in Ginny's head. "Hang on, your parents the reason why Harry broke up with me?" Her hand now gripped tightly onto her wand. "The day after we broke up he disappeared. Your parents probably blackmailed him into breaking up with me in public and then he went quietly with them to keep…" Her voice broke as the words refused to come out of her mouth.

"To keep _you safe_?" Draco hissed, raising his wand toward Ginny "It's not like there is another possible explanation that Potter couldn't stand you anymore. Maybe you drove him mad and that's why he's gone and disappeared. Ever think of that?" It was evident on Ginny's face that she had thought about it. She lowered her wand and turned to go up the steps, slamming the door behind her.

Draco looked at Kip, who had been standing near the oven during their entire conversation. Her ears were lowered and her head bowed. "Master, I worry that you may lose her, sir."

"Why is that?" Draco snarled.

Taking one step to the right, Kip unveiled what she had been working on all morning. It was a small cake with uneven portions of icing and strawberries. In one horrific moment, Draco realized what today was. Ginny's birthday. Upon this realization, Draco heard a loud _CRACK_ from upstairs. When he got upstairs, his fears had been realized, Ginny and all of her belongings were gone.

0o0o0o0o0o0

Ginny landed with a thud just outside the fence to the Weasley yard. Upon hearing this noise, she saw the porch lamp spring with light as several red-haired heads peeked through the window. Quickly, Ginny attempted to get up, but was knocked down by a strong force. She heard her mother screaming her name, but could not get off the ground because every time she tried she was moved back forcefully into the ground.

"Silly girl," a man's low voice hissed, "The more that you try to get up, the more the charm works against you."

"Get away from my daughter!" Molly's voice was now nearer and Ginny could see an extended wand raised at the hooded figure.

"Sorry Molly," they said, knocking Mrs. Weasley's wand from her hand with the flick of their wand. "I can't do that. We have serious business that we need to attend to."

Ginny could now hear several other footsteps, but all wands were flicked from their hands. The hooded man took Ginny and her trunk in hand and disapparated, leaving only Arnold the pygmy puff behind.

George stared from his parents to his younger brother at his side, "that wasn't-"

"Yes." Ron said, teeth gritted. He could feel his face getting hot with rage, "that was Harry."


	15. Chapter 15

Ginny's body landed with another thud on a cold brick floor, landing next to the man who captured her. She patted herself, trying to find her wand, but then to her horror, she found it in the hands of her capturer. "Give me back my wand."

"I don't think so, Gin." This phrase caught her off-guard as she had not heard her nickname used in a long time. "I think I'm going to keep it a while."

Her suitcase flew up the darkened staircase with the flick of a wand. The laugh that she had known so well on the times that they had spent in deserted parts of the Hogwarts grounds now had a maniacal tone to it. He peeled off his hood to reveal his identity. Shaggier than ever, Harry Potter stood before her with his glasses and lightning scar on his forehead. His face seemed gaunt and his expression hollow. "Miss me Ginny?"

His teeth were unkempt as his smile showed a toothy grin. "I've definitely missed you, but at least I got to read about you in the paper," an uncharacteristic sneer came from his mouth as he pointed to the wall of articles about Draco and Ginny. "How is the ferret anyway?"

Ginny said nothing as she tried to examine more of the room. It was dimly lit while there were few candles sporadically placed in the vast room. Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry speaking again, "He's probably whining right now that his father will hear about this… oh wait, his father already knows." A touch of cynicism carried through Harry's voice and hit Ginny hard in the face. "Then again, he doesn't have much to whine about since he's been shagging you for a year. If I had that chance, I wouldn't be complaining about anything."

Knowing that he was trying to get a rise out of her, she remained silent, hoping that there would be a way that her family or Draco could find her. "How is he at shagging? Is it like snogging a dead fish?"

Ginny sat up slowly, looking around at the room. To her disgust, in the corner of the room she saw one large blanket where it looked like Harry had been sleeping. "Or do you not care because you're just shagging him for money? A likely story, especially for your family-"

Before Ginny could get up to punch Harry, a door opened from what seemed meters away. "Mr. Harry Potter, Mrs. Malfoy would like to see that you brought Ginny Weasley. Bring her with you up the stairs."

Harry grabbed Ginny by the wrist and pulled her to her feet. Dragging her along, Harry's long fingernails were beginning to cut into her skin. On Harry's wrist there was a deep cut that had not healed properly and might be infected. They climbed up what felt to be 1,000 steps and Ginny told herself that to pass the time she may count them next time.

Once up the staircase, Harry pushed Ginny through a doorway and pressed her own wand firmly on her cheek. Ginny began to feel it burn when she heard Narcissa's voice chime, "Good boy, Harry, now take the wand off her face before she gets singed. I don't want a daughter-in-law with a disfigured face." Harry removed the wand from her skin, but she could still see the wand in the corner of her eye.

Narcissa moved about the room and Ginny's eyes fell onto Mr. Malfoy, who stood with his cane near the fireplace. The ceiling seemed unending as Ginny could not crane her neck high enough to see it. Her eyes went back to Narcissa, who was pacing up and down the floorboards. "Narcissa, don't you think-"

"No, Lucius," Narcissa snapped. It was apparent that they had a conversation previously and Lucius had not won the argument then either. "They must pay. They must pay for what was done to my sister."

Then it all rushed back to Ginny. Her mother had been the one the kill Bellatrix Lestrange after she had almost attacked Ginny. This must have been the real plan all along while Draco was unaware that his parents had secretly been doing this in revenge for Narcissa's sister. It had not been about popularity at all, Narcissa wanted revenge on the Weasley family.

Harry's hand was still firmly wrapped around Ginny's wrist. She could not help but feel that Mr. Malfoy had little to do with this plan, but not being able to stop his wife made Ginny have little sympathy for him. "Harry, you take her back down to the cellar. I will take her wand," Narcissa stretched out her arm and Harry threw Ginny's wand toward her. "And we will give you a pillow and another blanket since you did so well bringing her to us."

Harry gave a deranged smile, but before he could turn around Narcissa gave him a warning like tone, "Potter, remember our deal." With this Harry nodded and brought Ginny back downstairs, this time she counted 985 steps. From above she heard the door locking and once at the landing she saw a small pillow and blanket appear from thin air.

"Want to get close… for old time's sake? We'll be warmer." Harry's face was contorted and Ginny felt a shiver in her spine.

The cellar felt colder now in comparison to the sitting room upstairs. Ginny felt chilled, but not so chilled that she would cuddle next to Harry under these circumstances. She went to the opposite side of the room and sat with her back against the wall. She wanted to keep her eyes on Harry in case he tried anything and felt that it was unlikely she would sleep.

"I'll be over here if you change your mind or get cold," Harry said with a grin, putting both blankets over him and setting his head on the pillow.

Ginny waited until she heard him snore to close her eyes.

This was definitely her worst birthday.

0o0o0o0o0

"It doesn't make sense," Ron yelled as he slammed his hand on the table. "Why would Harry come and take Ginny away on her birthday? I could understand a well-mannered card, but after he broke her heart the second time, I told him to stop messing her around." Hermione put a knowing hand on Ron's shoulder to guide him into an empty chair.

Mrs. Weasley was bustling around everyone, trying to put a cup of tea in their hand whether they wanted one or not. Mr. Weasley sat at the head of the table, not speaking and only sipping from his teacup.

"Maybe Harry is under a curse and was used to do the Malfoy's bidding, since they would have likely been taken away by the ministry if they showed up here," George offered, sitting down next to his father. "Or he could've been driven mental by spending that much time with the Malfoy's. They might be torturing him."

"We can't know any of this for sure until we find where they are hiding them," Kingsley Shacklebolt said sternly, trying to wave off Molly and her kettle.

"How are we supposed to know where they are now if we haven't been able to find Harry for over a year and two months! Even once you found out it was the Malfoys you still haven't been able to find them." Ron shouted, more loudly than he had anticipated. "It's like the bloody horcruxes all over again, only we literally have nothing to go off of."

"Let's think," said Hermione, trying to offer useful help. "The Malfoys likely had summer homes, so maybe you could check those? Or what about watching the Unforgiveable Curses, isn't the ministry alarmed when one is performed?"

"Yes, we are alarmed Miss Granger, but have not seen any Unforgiveable Curses since they reinstated the law." Kingsley said with a rough voice as Molly placed a teacup beside him against his will.

"Is it possible that they are using this magic with other's wands where it wouldn't be seen as unusual for them to be preforming these spells?" Neville asked, giving a polite thank you to Mrs. Weasley as she poured him more tea.

"It wouldn't be normal for anyone to be performing Unforgiveable Curses, since they are illegal." Hermione offered as Kingsley reluctantly sipped his tea under Molly's watchful eye.

"So maybe Harry hasn't had the Imperius curse on him, but if he was allowed to disapparate to get Ginny, why wouldn't he have just gone into hiding and tell the Ministry where the Malfoys were?" Ted Tonks offered as he and his wife sat next to Arthur near the head of the table. "Surely he would be smarter than to go back there."

"Unless they threatened him." Luna piped up in a small voice, sitting next to Ron. "It's likely that they would have made a threat to ensure that Harry would bring Ginny back to them."

"They will kill him if he stays there, so it couldn't have been that." George offered, trying to get his mother to sit down. "It must be something that Harry cares about more than his own life."

There was a silence. They had all remembered Harry's reaction after the flight of the Seven Potters. Mrs. Weasley dropped the kettle out of her hand as she looked toward her grandfather clock. All of the living Weasley's hands pointed at "mortal peril". She hadn't had the heart to remove Fred from her clock, because she wanted to be reminded of his smiling face.

"It must have been more than just Ginny, because he must have known that they were trying to find her and couldn't. Until she made herself visible on the night of her birthday." Bill said, hanging his arm around Fleur's shoulder while she rocked Victoire to sleep.

Percy and Charlie were now comforting their mother in the sitting room, who had burst into uncontrollable tears. Neville was slow to speak again, "has anyone contacted Draco since this happened?"

"He must've known she disapparated," Mr. Weasley said quietly, "Ginny never was able to learn how to disapparate discretely."

"What if they took him first and then Ginny tried to come here, but then Harry was there to snatch her up." George offered.

"It's all speculation until we can track-" Kingsley's words stopped as a faint pop was heard by everyone in the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley's sobs stopped as Arthur was the first to look out the door. Draco Malfoy was running toward the front door of the Burrow.

"Mr. Weasley, do you know where Ginny is?" Draco asked as he was almost to the door, out of breath.

"I don't know." Mr. Weasley said quietly.

"Mr. Weasley, please, it's urgent that I know where she is. Is she in there with you?" Draco tried to look past Mr. Weasley, but was unable to see past the large man.

"She was here for a moment," Mr. Weasley said quietly.

The horror on Draco's face shown in the porch light. "No, Mr. Weasley… Please tell me she's at the shop or Shell Cottage or anywhere else that's safe."

"I don't know where my daughter is Draco." Mr. Weasley said with a sharper tone. "If you could give me-"

Before Mr. Weasley could finish his sentence, Draco Malfoy collapsed onto the steps of the Burrow in a heap. Hitting the ground with his fist, Draco looked as though he was experiencing the anguish that the rest of the Weasley family was feeling. "I yelled at her sir." Draco cried, "That's why she disapparated from the safe house. I had told her the truth about my parents and then I yelled at her and she's gone. This is all my fault. She would've been safe had she just stayed, but I had to go and screw it up like the massive prat that I am. She's never going to forgive me now, not after this. I'll never forgive myself Mr. Weasley. I won't expect you or your family to either. I wish I would've left her alone and then she would've been safe. She would have been safer not getting involved with me or my family." Draco felt a warm hand touch his shoulder and pull him up. He was led inside by this hand and was guided to sit at the table next to George. A warm cup of tea was set in front of him by Mrs. Weasley and he had now recognized the hand as Mr. Weasley's. George slapped a firm hand on Draco's back as he looked up and met Ron's eyes. He had noticed that Ron had also been crying, but tears weren't currently running down his face.

"It's alright Draco," his first name came out from Luna Lovegood's mouth for the first time that he could recall. "Is there any information that you could give to us that might help us find Ginny?"

Draco recounted all of the information about his parents that he might have thought useful, old holiday spots, friends that might have some information, and possible motives that they might have for taking Ginny and Harry. Draco felt highly uncomfortable sitting in a room full of Weasleys and members of the Order of the Phoenix telling them that his parents had planned this from the beginning. He had told them about how his feelings for Ginny were genuine, but it was hard to tell if any of them believed him.

Across from him, Ron and Hermione's mouths stayed agape while Neville's fists were clenched tightly to his sides. Molly and Arthur were glancing at each other while Kingsley asked Draco another question. "Are there any other places that they might be?"

Before Draco could say no, a woman spoke for the first time since Draco's arrival. "Cissy always liked going down to Brighton. She loved the water and I think there was an abandoned house that she always had a strange affinity for." Draco suddenly realized that the aunt he had never met was sitting at the same table he was. "It might have been torn down years ago, but it's another place to start." Andromeda gave a knowing glance at her nephew and said, "I wish it weren't under these circumstances, but it's nice to meet you Draco."

Hermione looked from one to the other, "But aren't you his?"

"My sister is enduring serious torture right now," Ron huffed angrily, "I don't have time for niceties."

"Alright," Kingsley said in a booming voice, "We will be sending out teams of Aurors to find them and once we get a lead, we will inform you."

"That's it?" Ron asked incredulously, "You'll just keep us updated on what you and your team are going to do? You're not going to involve us in any way?"

"Weasley, you need to stay off of this case. It would be unethical of me to keep you on it." Kingsley said knowing that this would likely gain a retort. "If we need backup we will send for you, but until then you need to stay here and wait to see if she comes back."

" _Wait to see if she comes back?"_ Ron snorted, "By that Minister do you mean dead or alive, because we both know which is more likely if we sit here and wait."

Ron caused his mother to burst into inconsolable tears again, but Kingsley stayed firm. "Stay here or you're off the team Weasley. I mean it, I don't want your hot head entering any hostile situation."

Ron's sides of his mouth prominently turned down as he glared at Kingsley. Without anything more than pleasant goodbyes, Kingsley left the Burrow and disapparated. Ron angrily went from his chair to the sitting room, plopping himself down in the chair nearest his mother, who could not control her tears. The room remained silent besides occasional whines from Victoire and sipping of tea.

Draco could not remember a time where he felt responsible for more disastrous events. He remembered bringing the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, but he did not take that as a personal responsibility since it was Voldemort's command and if he hadn't he would have died. Other than that day, Draco had not felt this sort of personal anguish since seeing Professor Dumbledore die right before his eyes. He buried his head into his arms, wishing that this awful day had all been just a dream.

0o0o0o0o0

Ginny could not tell if it had been days or weeks since being captured by Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. To her, it felt like an eternity. Since her arrival, she had one glass of water and had not left the cold, dark cellar. Harry Potter was there, but he had not been the same. Ginny suspected that due to a potion in the food or from over a year of torture, Harry had not been the same as he had in his days at Hogwarts. Every so often Harry would offer for Ginny to go cuddle in his blanket, but every time she refused. She could not trust him, not like this.

To keep her mind preoccupied, Ginny tried to think of more pleasant things, but was only distraught by the possibility that she might never see her family again. Of all things, Ginny did not care for being a damsel in distress. She had grown up with 6 older brothers who taught her to be tough. She felt as though she was disgracing her family, but she tried to not think about that.

For a moment, Ginny thought she had heard a movement from upstairs. The door unlocked and Narcissa's voice rang in her ears, "Potter, bring Miss Weasley up to see me in the north tower." Harry stood up quickly and grabbed Ginny by the wrist. They climbed the 985 steps and another 85 to get up to the north tower. The room was not as dark as the cellar, but you could see the sun going down through the window. Ginny missed the warmth of the sun on her skin.

Harry's nails continued to dig into Ginny's skin as she tried to bear it. The room appeared to be a vast sitting room with little places to sit. A rug was placed in the middle of the room and that is where Narcissa motioned for Harry to place Ginny.

"Well, Miss Weasley, it seems as though your family hasn't been trying to find you. All the papers say that the Aurors are going to give up the search since it's been too difficult to locate you…" Narcissa waited to see a reaction from Ginny and smiled when she seemed to strike a nerve. "Your poor mother must be sobbing her eyes out in the hole that she calls a home."

Ginny did not respond to this. She felt Harry standing next to her, but did not feel as disgusted as she had in the cellar. It was as if something had changed in the sunlight. "Potter, would you be a dear and tell Miss Weasley the truth about why you are here?"

"I was captured by the Malfoys in the hopes that you would run after me, instead they decided to torture me by trying to set you up with their son. Draco didn't know fully about this plan, but it was all to make you and your family suffer," Ginny saw something flash in Harry's eyes, she recognized it as remorse. In this same moment she heard the faintest pop and then another. "I wish I could have saved you Ginny. I really do. I didn't want any of this to happen." Whatever Harry had been poisoned with seemed to be wearing off. "I still love you. I always will."

In a fit of rage, Narcissa raised her wand and shouted " _Avada Kedavra!"_

To Ginny's horror, Harry fell on the wooden floor beside her, crashing into the ground with a loud thud. She could no longer hide her pain and let out an ear-shattering scream. Looking at the man she had once loved, Ginny saw a smile similar to her brother Fred's etched on Harry's face. She placed her hand on his and hoped that he could not be dead. Trying to feel for a pulse, Ginny placed her fingers on his wrist, but Ginny felt nothing. Her heart pounded as if it wanted to escape her chest and her face felt hot as tears ran down her cheeks. Turning back toward Narcissa, Ginny glared at her with pure distain. Narcissa's eyes had gone wild as she stared at where Harry's body had been standing just seconds before.

Not able to find words, Ginny only stared at the woman who had killed Harry Potter. She wanted nothing more for him to not be dead, but could not properly mourn in front of Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy. Narcissa let out a nasty laugh, looking from Harry to Ginny. "Potter is dead."

Ginny tried to lunge toward Narcissa, but was pushed back by a flash of red light. Within that same moment, Ginny's entire body pierced with inconceivable pain. Her voice screamed louder and higher than it ever had before. She could not feel anything but pain. Her body was moving out of shock and could not contain itself. After what felt like several minutes, Ginny stopped screaming and heard Narcissa's laugh once again.

Her body lay in a collapsed heap on the floor next to Harry's. She wished that she had died instead of Harry. Her mind raced, remembering the Longbottom's fate and how it had been worse than death. Before Narcissa could raise her wand again at Ginny, they both heard the sound of feet climbing the steps of the tower.


	16. Chapter 16

_Please review!_

It had been two weeks since Ginny's disappearance and no progress had been made on the location of the Malfoys besides where they were not. Andromeda continued to be helpful in the search as well as Draco. George had insisted on joining the search and to Ron's great displeasure was allowed to join. "He's a slick git if he thinks that he's going to do a better job than I would." Ron growled at the breakfast table that morning as Hermione came down the steps.

Mrs. Weasley had already made a plate of eggs and toast for Hermione and put a hot bowl of oatmeal in front of her. "Eat up Hermione" Mrs. Weasley said, pulling a chair out next to Ron.

The longer the search dragged on, the more unpleasant Ron became. Understandably he was upset, but he was starting to get on everyone's nerves. They all felt the way that he did, but each member of the family had their own way of dealing with it. Since Ginny's disappearance, Draco had been sharing a room with Charlie since Percy was taking his room. Draco didn't have the heart to go back to the safe house, he would go mad without news and the idea of being alone made him shudder.

Coming down the stairs, Draco had an idea as he saw Mrs. Weasley's frying pan. "Mrs. Weasley, how many people can a house-elf side apparate at one time?" This question obviously took Mrs. Weasley by surprise due to her expression, "I'm not sure dear, we've never had a house-elf."

Snapping his fingers three times, Draco waited and hoped to hear a loud crack. Within seconds he heard this noise coming from the sitting room. Running toward the noise, Draco saw Kip standing next to the couch that towered above her. "Kip, I want you to find where my parents and Miss Ginny are."

In seconds, the house-elf had vanished. Returning toward the kitchen, Draco felt several sets of disapproving eyes on him, mainly Hermione's. "It's worth a shot, isn't it? Better than moping around here all day." He grumbled, retiring in the sitting room and picking up a newspaper.

Little word had come from the ministry by the time it turned 6 pm. Regular office hours were over and a new set of eyes would be put toward looking for Ginny and Harry. Kip had not returned to the Burrow and Draco had worried something happened to her. He could barely eat anything, but was forced to eat several pieces of toast by Mrs. Weasley. Kip returned at half past six, panting. "Master Draco, I found your parents. They are in a manor near Brighton. Come quickly sir, I think they may have spotted me and they might relocate if we do not hurry."

Draco grasped his house-elf's hand while George ran to them, "I'm coming with you." Without refute, Draco, Kip, and George flew into the air and landed on wooden floor. "Kip" Draco whispered, "go back to the Burrow and bring Ron Weasley to this exact spot, but before you bring him here you must tell Mrs. Weasley where we are and tell her to tell the Order what has happened. They will know what to do." With a snap of the fingers, Kip was gone.

It was no longer than 15 seconds that Kip reappeared with Ron in tow, thankful that he had been invited at all. Draco surveyed what appeared to be an abandoned manor that had once belonged to a wizarding family. They slowly looked around and could not find Narcissa and Lucius. Suddenly, all of their hearts stopped in unison as they heard an ear-shattering scream. Ron took charge and followed the noise first, close behind were George and Draco. Running up several flights of steps, the scream came again, but it was louder this time.

Once up the stairs of what appeared to be a spiral tower, a towering voice bellowed, "Drop your wands!" Draco caught his breath as he recognized the voice belonging to his father, who stood pointing his wand at them. Two figures lay collapsed on the floor, one did not move and the other shook quietly on the floor. This was where Narcissa had her wand pointed and howled, "Put the wands down or she dies too." Narcissa motioned toward the pile on the floor. Ron and George dropped their wands, but Draco kept his in hand until his mother made a slight movement towards the shaking body.

The unmoving body lay facing the other, so none of the boys could tell who it had been. "So Draco, you've made friends with the blood-traitors I see." Feeling George and Ron on both sides of him, he stiffened at his father's words. "Glad you could all join us for today's festivities. Sorry you missed the first half, but you'll be glad to see the second."

Draco could not look at either of his parents and could only try to discern which of the cloaked bodies Ginny was. Since his mother said she had not died, he looked toward the quivering body farther from him. The face was covered by a darkened cloak, but Draco could almost see freckled cheeks that he recognized. "Are mummy and daddy coming?" Narcissa sneered at Ron and George, "to see their little princess-"

In a flash of blue light, Narcissa's wand was knocked out of her hand and she fell backward. Draco, Ron, and George bent down to pick up their wands as Lucius tried to find where the spell had come from. He was then bombarded by a spell that knocked him off of his feet. Ron ran toward the two bodies and tried to examine who they were when he was knocked over by Lucius's misaimed curse. George's wand shot out blue sparks and Lucius' wand was knocked out of his hand. George fired again, only a sort of netting scooped up both Narcissa and Lucius into a netting high off of the ground, both of their wands on the floor. Ron got to his feet again and looked at the figure on the left first. Peering down, Draco and George immediately could tell who the figure had been. Ron collapsed onto the body and could not control himself. George kept his wand toward the netting, but went toward his brother. He did not comfort his brother, but instead looked at the quivering body next to Harry.

Pulling back the hood, George let out a gasp of shock. Even though he had known this would be his sister, this did not prepare him from what he saw. Ginny's face was white and her eyes were pleading. She tried speaking, but no words would come out. Tears released from her eyes as she acknowledged that she could not speak.

A familiar pop sounded in the room as Kip and Kingsley Shacklebolt entered with a group of Aurors and Mr. Weasley. Surveying the room, Mr. Weasley pushed past everyone else and ran toward his daughter and sons. Ginny tried speaking again, but was unable and more tears streamed down her face. "Arthur, take Ginny to St. Mungo's immediately, use Kip and take the rest of your family now." Kip walked toward the Weasleys, but Ron did not budge. His hands still clung to the body of his best friend and he blubbered into Harry's chest. George raised Ginny in his hands again and stood next to his father, Kip took the sides of their trousers and with a "pop" they were gone.

Draco could not emotionally handle that this needless violence could have been prevented if they had listened to Andromeda sooner. She had been the one to suggest this abandoned house, but the ministry had gone with Draco's locations first. Had he gotten there sooner then maybe Ginny wouldn't have suffered and Harry Potter would still be alive. Draco could not take his eyes off of Ron as he was inconsolably crying on Harry. He had known that they were best friends, but he did not understand the connection that they had. He imagined that it was how Draco was feeling right now about Ginny, pure anguish and disgust with himself that he had not done anything sooner.

Kingsley gestured for Draco to come to him. Draco moved quietly across the room as if not wishing to disturb Ron's grief. "Draco Malfoy, can you verify that these are your parents, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy?"

"Unless they have consumed Polyjuice Potion, yes I can verify that these people are my wretched parents." Draco stared at his unconscious mother and his father who glowered at him. "Do with them whatever you must Mr. Shacklebolt. I personally think a life-sentence in Azkaban should do."

Kingsley looked curiously at Draco before turning back to his team of Aurors. Draco spun on his heels to walk back toward Ron and what had once been Harry Potter. Sitting down beside the body that Ron was sobbing on, Draco outstretched his hand for Ron's shoulder. It was the only thing Draco could think to do to be helpful. He felt Ron's shoulder stop moving as much after a few seconds. Ron's tears were no longer violent and his head began to rise.

Ron wiped off his eyes with his sleeve and sat up straight, trying to not look into Harry's face. When Draco saw him, he could not easily recognize it being Harry Potter. He was sure that Ron could identify him, but his hair had grown out raggedly and he was almost unrecognizable. Ron sat very still, Draco's hand still firmly on his shoulder. Draco could then feel his hand twisting as Ron turned toward him.

His face puffy and blotched with red, Ron's bloodshot eyes met Draco's. He opened his mouth to speak, but he only leaned toward Draco and gave him a hug. Draco assumed that this happened because he was the only living being close to Ron, he decided to hug him for comfort. Draco then felt his shoulder get damp as Ron began to cry again, sobbing into Draco's shoulder. "You're not like them." Ron sputtered into Draco's shoulder, "You would never do this to anyone. You're different from them."

Taken aback, Draco patted Ron on the back as a confirmation that he had heard Ron's sentiment. "I know that you would never hurt Ginny," Ron said, accidentally getting snot on Draco's sweater. "I can tell that she loves you. She won't shut up about you, which drove me mad." Ron sat up straight again and wiped his eyes and nose on his opposite sleeve. "I only wanted to make sure you wouldn't mess her up like Harry did. For being the chosen one he was pretty shite when it came to women."

Draco could not find even the slightest laugh inside of him. Ron looked back down at Harry and then looked toward where Ginny had been laying. In Ron's grief he had not paid attention to what had happened to Ginny and where she had gone. To reply to Ron's expression, Draco said, "Your father and George took her to St. Mungo's." He was not going to add the part about her not being able to speak, because he was sure Ron would burst into tears once more.

Kingsley's voice boomed again across the room toward Draco and Ron. "Draco, call Kip and have her take you and Mr. Weasley to the Burrow. It will be crowded at St. Mungo's and Miss Weasley will be well taken care of. We will take Mr. Potter's body back to the Ministry for further examination as well as these wands, which I presume are your parents'?" Draco nodded curtly and snapped his finger three times. Kip apparated into the room and said, "Yes master Draco?"

"Kip, please take me and Mr. Weasley back to the Burrow." The elf bowed and put her hands towards Ron and Draco. Draco took her hand lightly and Ron hesitated slightly as he looked back at Harry one last time. Feeling a host of emotions, Draco felt as though he was being sucked through a small tube.

They landed flatly in the Burrow, near the couch where they had left what seemed like hours ago. Running from the kitchen, Hermione saw Ron and dropped the bowl she had been mixing. As they both got to their feet, Ron felt a jolt in his body as Hermione's body crashed into his. She hugged him tightly, then looked at his face. Now concerned, Hermione took a step back and examined Ron's face. Looking from Draco to Ron, it was almost as if Hermione had known. Since Draco's face was dry, Hermione could only assume that the worst had happened to Harry.

"Ginny is…" she asked, staring at her boyfriend for answers.

"At St. Mungo's." Ron said hoarsely, slowly stroking Hermione's hair as a comfort to the shock that would come next.

"And Harry…" her voice trailed off as she looked at Draco, who could not look her in the face.

Ron stammered for a second and tried to regain his composure. Trying to get all of the words out, but the only word that resonated in Ron's mouth was "dead."


	17. Chapter 17

**_Please Review!_**

Draco could not bear to hear the retelling of how his parents had tortured Ginny and killed Harry Potter another time. He knew that all of the newspapers would be covering it tomorrow, but he did not want to see the headlines that they would produce. He had not slept in what felt like days and did not have the heart to travel to St. Mungo's to see Ginny. He felt guilty being near the Weasleys, they treated him with a respect that he didn't feel he deserved. Killing and torture didn't seem to be good familial traits, especially when the son of murderers wanted to become part of the family. Ron and Hermione had left for St. Mungo's an hour before. Surprisingly, Ron had asked Draco if he wanted to come, but Draco politely declined by making up an excuse.

Draco had not heard back from anyone on how Ginny was or what the Ministry had found when examining Harry's body. He could only imagine the worst had happened to Ginny, but he could not bear to go to St. Mungo's. He wanted to imagine her as she was in her happiest. The memory of them playing Quidditch together coursed through Draco's head. How would she feel when she saw him for the first time? Would she burst into tears? Would she hit him? Would she hate him? He felt as though he would never be happy again.

None of the Weasleys arrived back at the Burrow until the next morning, when Charlie, George, Ron, Hermione, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley came through the fireplace. Draco sat up straight and looked from one Weasley to another. George was the first to answer, "Won't let us see her. Been surrounded by Healers since we brought her in. They told us last night that they might let us see her this morning, but no luck." George fell into the seat next to Draco. "Loads of journalists trying to get a story this morning. The healers have got enough on their plate."

The rest of the Weasleys went into the kitchen or upstairs to their bedrooms to sleep. Draco felt sick to his stomach and was sure that he would throw up. George recognized this face and ran to get a bucket. He was just in time as Draco was reminded of what he had eaten last. He could not help this unwanted burden of guilt and self-hatred. "I would advise you to not look at the papers either mate. Not pretty." George put his hand on Draco's shoulder and said, "Come with this afternoon. She's going to want to see you."

Uneasy about this, Draco just nodded and held onto the bucket for dear life.

0o0o0o0o0

A few hours passed by and Draco could not keep anything down. He was too nervous to eat. Mrs. Weasley ushered him upstairs, but he couldn't sleep either. His heart felt as though it would fall out of his chest. During the afternoon, Draco tried to pretend to be asleep, but George caught him and dragged him to the sitting room. "She will want to see you." George urged, but Draco tried to head back upstirs. Taking him by the sleeve, George pushed him into the fireplace and placed floo powder in his hand. "She loves you."

Against his better judgement, Draco felt a sharp tug on his nose as he flew up the chimney and slid into one of the waiting rooms at St. Mungo's. The Burrow had apparently been set up so that the Weasleys could floo and not be in the main waiting room. Draco preferred this because he did not have to worry about the press talking to him about his deranged family. George slid into the room next and waved his wand to brush himself and Draco off. Draco followed George down a hallway with portraits that were muttering away. He could hear them whispering about him, but could not distinguish what exactly they were saying.

Turning a corner, George went up to a Healer and asked if visitors could come in yet. He looked between George and Draco and gave a sigh. "No more than two of you and be quick. She needs rest." Before going in, the Healer stopped Draco and said, "Be careful. Keep the conversation light and do not talk about what happened. Just reassure her that she is okay and that everything will be alright."

George led Draco into the room where Ginny was sleeping. It was bigger than the room she had the last time and was much brighter. Less flowers were present, but the light shined through the window. Ginny's hospital bed faced a large plant that was sitting in the opposite corner of the room. Draco thought to himself that the plant looked as though it had not been given enough care and hope that it did not reflect badly on the healers.

A curtain blocked Draco's view of Ginny and he was glad it was there. He wanted to turn around and act as though he had never come. He didn't want to see the horrified expression on Ginny's face when she saw him. He didn't want to see the hate that she had for his parents. He couldn't bear to see how weak she had become. To Draco's surprise, George pushed the curtain wide open.

To Draco's relief, she was sleeping. He quickly realized that one of his fears had come true. Ginny looked disturbingly malnourished and thin. Her hair was unkempt and her skin seemed extremely pale.

George pulled up a chair to the side of her bed and pushed another one toward Draco at the foot of the bed. They both sat down and tried to not look so intently at Ginny. She continued to sleep for another two hours until she started to toss and turn in bed. Recognizing these twists and turns, Draco realized that Ginny was having a nightmare.

Getting out of their chairs, George and Draco tried frantically to wake Ginny up. George tried to calmly wake her, by shaking her lightly on the arms. This backfired however and made her toss more. Draco pulled up the sheets from the bottom of the bed and tickled the bottom of Ginny's right foot. Before he knew it, he heard Ginny scream, and was promptly kicked the face.

Draco let out a painful yell that woke Ginny from her nightmare. Draco held on tightly to his nose and checked to see if he was bleeding. Draco felt hot blood dripping out of his nose and into his hands. Cursing, Draco tried to find some tissue, but he was never a particularly good finder.

After catching a quick glance at Ginny, Draco decided it would be best if he left. Their eyes only met for a second, but Draco could tell Ginny was in immense pain and he felt personally responsible. Turning, he made a gesture to exit, but George followed him and caught him before he reached the door. "Let me fix your nose."

"I can't do this."

George raised his wand and placed an anti-listening charm on the curtain that divided them from Ginny. "Let me fix your nose."

"You saw how she looked at me. She knows what my parents did and now she associates me with them. I can't do this." Draco turned again, but he felt a strong force on his shoulder pull him back toward George.

"Hold still." George's right arm firmly on Draco's shoulder while his left held his wand. Draco felt his nose set back in its place and could not help giving a low grunt. More curse words flew from Draco's mouth as he noticed his nose stopped bleeding. With another flick of his wand, George cleaned all the excess blood on Draco's hands and face. George stored his wand back in his pocket, but continued to look at Draco sternly, "Now. These past few weeks have not been easy on any of us. I understand that Ron is a living nightmare when he gets in his moods, but what we went through is nothing in comparison to what she went through." George's finger pointed toward the curtain. "If you leave _now,_ she will never forgive you. I won't blame her for it either. She needs to know that when things are really shite that you'll still be there. I don't care how uncomfortable you may feel, if you care about her at all you need to go back in there and be there for her."

George paused and looked sternly at Draco, "I have been defending you since the first day you showed up at the Burrow. If you run now, you're just going to be proving the first impressions that the rest of my family had of you. Yeah, I didn't like you while we were at Hogwarts, but once Ginny came into your life, you're a pretty decent person." He paused and tightened the grip he had on Draco's shoulder. "Now, I'm going to go get Ginny a sweet. If you're still here when I come back, I'll treat you like a brother. If you decide to leave when I'm gone, then have a nice life."

When George closed the door behind him, Draco felt the listening charm lift and he stood very still. Draco could not help but think about the immense pain and suffering his parents had inflicted onto Ginny's life. He had led them to her and without Draco's help, Ginny could have been safe. Hearing a soft noise, he walked closer toward the curtain and pushed it slightly. Behind the curtain, Ginny was wiping her eyes and trying to catch her breath. Seeing Draco made her cry even harder and he felt his heart sink low into his stomach.

"I-I t-thought you left," she choked, trying to wipe her eyes, but the tears continued to fall.

"I thought I was going to." He said quietly, fixated on his shoes. "I thought I couldn't handle it. Then George made me realize how selfish I sounded and I turned around."

Ginny's face was now a bright blotchy red as she feverishly tried to wipe her eyes. Draco walked closer to her and sat on her bed. He took her hands and held them as they sat in the still silence. Ginny opened her mouth to speak again, but no words came out. Visibly frustrated, Ginny tried harder to formulate a sentence and said, "Don't s-stay i-if you feel sorry." Her voice curtailed as though it was too painful for her body to continue. Draco took a sudden interest in staring at his shoes again.

When he looked back up at Ginny several seconds later, her eyes were pleading to his. "Y-you are n-not your p-parents." She finished, giving his hand a small and shaky squeeze.

Nothing else that Ginny could have said would have mattered as much as those five words. He had tried so hard to disassociate himself with his parents and the one person that mattered realized this fact. They both sat quietly in the stillness of the room.

They sat in this still silence until they heard the door open and close. George reappeared around the curtain with three sets of sweets. He gave them both a smile and said to Draco, "I'd had a feeling you'd be here, so I brought you one too."

By eight o clock, Draco had fallen asleep in a chair next to Ginny's hospital bed. His feet rested on a side table and his hand lay lamely on hers. Ginny couldn't help but look at him and wonder what he was dreaming. After several moments, Ginny remembered that George was present and turned her attention toward him. He had a grin plastered on his face and was watching Ginny carefully, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're in love with him."

She looked at Draco again and gave a small smile.

Her throat was raw, but she had a burning question to ask George while Draco was asleep. Desperately trying to form the words she wanted to say in her mind, but she could only look at her brother pleadingly and mouth the word "Harry".

Her brother's facial expression fell and he ruffled his hair as if this would help. "Ginny…" he started, but then stopped himself for a moment. "Harry's gone. They still are examining his body at the Ministry. Kingsley said that they would hold off on having a service until you could attend."

Unwanted tears rolled down Ginny's face and she held her left hand over her mouth in order to not wake Draco. Every muscle in her body ached and it felt as though she had been run over by the Hogwarts Express. Her eyelids weighed heavily and she closed them so they could relax.

George wanted nothing more than to take all the pain and hurt away that his sister was feeling, but he knew that it would be a long road before that could happen.


	18. Chapter 18

Ginny strolled out of St. Mungo's a month after being admitted. She brought herself into the car and said, "Mum, I don't know why they haven't cleared me to apparate. I'm almost normal."

"It's just a precaution dear," Mrs. Weasley said reassuringly as George got into the car dressed in a suit. "Is Ron going to meet us there?"

"He's gone to help set up with Hermione and Draco." George said, sliding in closer to his sister. "Is Dad going to be there?"

"Your father will be there with Kingsley and the rest of the Order." Mrs. Weasley said from the front of the car. The rest of the ride to Ottery St. Catchpole was quiet with the exception of a few conversations between George and Mrs. Weasley on the weather and who would be attending today.

Ginny got out of the car and was greeted by Neville and Luna who were wearing very different shades of clothing. Neville had a dark suit with a dark blue tie, while Luna had a bright yellow dress that looked like a sunflower. "It's nice of you to come," George said, offering his hand to Neville and Luna.

"We wouldn't have missed it." Neville said in a quiet voice, while Luna went to give Ginny a hug.

"He wouldn't have approved of my dress, but I think it honors him." Luna said quietly to Ginny. She gave a small laugh and said, "I like it Luna."

They led Ginny to the front door of the Burrow and it was bursting with people. Ginny felt extremely overwhelmed by the sheer number of people that were in the house. No one had personal space and trying to get from one end of the house to the other was almost impossible. George led Ginny to the sitting room where Ron, Hermione, and Draco were sitting.

Ron looked solemn as he stared at his small cup of firewhiskey, while Hermione sat on the side of his chair rubbing his back. Draco stood upon seeing Ginny and offered her his chair, "Kingsley said that they would be coming soon."

Draco had not offered to pick Ginny up from St. Mungo's because he was nervous about how much he should involve himself in Harry Potter's funeral. He knew that Ginny had been close to him, but did not know the extent to how much she still cared for him. The few times that Draco and Ginny had discussed Harry were in shouting matches when Draco got jealous or the night when Ginny found out about his parents' plan. Needless to say, Draco was carefully walking on eggshells today to ensure he would not cause any more trouble for Ginny.

Rumors had been circling in the Wizarding World about Harry Potter's death and how he was connected to the Malfoy family. Thankfully, Ginny had been blissfully unaware of this fact until the moment when a larger woman came tumbling toward her with a glass in her hand. "Ginevra-" the old woman hiccupped, "tell me how the boy died. Diggs and I were having a disagreement and we hoped you could clear it up for us."

Ginny stared blankly at the old woman and did not say anything. "Have you gone deaf girl? Answer me, how did this boy die? Seeing as it is his funeral, it is an appropriate question to ask… I know that you were with him-"

"Then you should know all that you need to know Aunt Muriel," Ron cut in front of his mother's aunt. "I assume the only reason you know Ginny was there because you read what you wanted to read in the Daily Prophet. Go back and reread it if you're so curious, otherwise don't bother Ginny with questions that you don't really care to know the truth about. Why don't you just go back to nursing your drink in the corner?"

Hermione gave a sharp tug on Ron's coat, but he did not move away from his aunt, who was now fuming. "Your mother and father should have raised you better than that. Maybe if they didn't have so many they would be able to keep you in line." She stuck her nose firmly in the air and staggered back toward the sea of people.

The family clock rang two and everyone began to walk outside. Ginny sat still on the couch and watched as everyone was ushered into the backyard. Standing across from her was Draco, who was intently watching her movements and expressions. He had known that this time and day would come, but he still did not know how Ginny felt about all of this. Did she still love Harry? Did she wish that it had been herself instead of him? If this hadn't happened would she have left Draco for Harry?

These questions remained unknown to Draco as Neville signaled for Draco and Ginny to follow him outside. Draco reached for Ginny's hand and she took his. Strolling down the lawn, they sat in some folded chairs toward the front of the aisles. Their hands still clinging to one another.

The service was a time where people could freely come to the front and share stories about their memories with Harry. Most stories were told by Gryffindors or members of the Order of the Phoenix. One rather plump man came up to the front and talked about how he had known Harry as a child and never realized how loved he had been. The plump man returned to his seat between a larger man and a lanky woman with blonde hair whose face was bright red and soaked with tears.

Ginny did not move from her seat, but simply sat next to Draco holding his hand tightly. She shed a few tears when George went up to speak and told a story about how Harry had always treated the twins as individuals. He explained that he and Fred respected Harry for that reason because they were always respected equally and treated separately. Ron also spoke about Harry, but instead told embarrassing stories. Neville spoke candidly about how Voldemort could have chosen him instead of Harry and how he would not have been able to face him with the courage that Harry displayed.

Mrs. Weasley spoke a few phrases, but had to be ushered back to her seat by Percy. Mr. Weasley described how he felt that Harry had become a part of his family and all he was missing was red hair. The speeches finished with Hermione talking about how she had always appreciated Harry's friendship even in the adversities that they faced.

Ginny remained in her seat long after everyone else had left. Draco sat with her as the wind whistled in their ears and pushed their hair into their faces. Quietly, Draco turned to Ginny to look at her face. Fresh tears were silently falling down her cheeks as she tried to wipe them away with her free hand.

"I thought we had more time." She mumbled, "It's like my deepest fears are all unfolding in front of my eyes."

Turning her head and resting it on Draco's shoulder, she curled into him and started to sob. Draco wrapped his arms around Ginny and pulled her in close. He had no words of comfort to share with her, but could only hold her. They stayed like this for hours, not saying a word.

 _ **Please review!**_


End file.
